Paris security perimeter to be enforced week before 2024 Olympics opening ceremony

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00:00The Paris chief of police warned today that the French capital is going to face major

00:04disruption in the run-up to the start of the Olympics.

00:07The opening ceremony is going to be held along the River Seine on the 26th of July.

00:11It's going to involve 160 boats carrying athletes from all around the world on a six-kilometre-long

00:17route towards the Eiffel Tower.

00:19But this opening ceremony is proving to be a security headache, and it's taking place

00:23against the backdrop of wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

00:26France 24's Selena Sykes filed this report for us.

00:32An unprecedented security operation for an unprecedented opening ceremony.

00:38With 92 days to go, our goal for the opening ceremony is still the same.

00:42To put on an unprecedented show that will be watched by 220,000 people on the upper

00:48banks and 100,000 people on the lower banks of the Seine.

00:52A ceremony running over a six-kilometre course that's never been seen before.

00:58Paris 2024 organisers wanted to make a splash when promising to open the Olympics with a

01:04spectacle along the River Seine, in what would be the first opening ceremony to take place

01:09outside of a stadium in the history of the Games.

01:12But their big ambitions are causing jitters in a city that knows first-hand the threat

01:17of terrorism.

01:18French authorities unveiled on Thursday more detailed security plans for the 26th of July.

01:24Around 20,000 people who live and work along the Seine will be the most affected.

01:30Everyone who wants to enter will be systematically investigated and will need authorisation from

01:36the police.

01:39A security zone around the Seine will be in place on the 18th of July, eight days before

01:44the opening ceremony.

01:46During that period, security measures will effectively cut Paris into two, warned the

01:51head of Paris police.

01:53Security checks of properties overlooking the Seine, the closure of metros and roads

01:57to traffic, as well as stop and searches of individuals and vehicles, are just some of

02:02the other precautions.

02:03All with the aim of pulling off an Olympic ceremony like no other.

02:08For more analysis, we can speak now to Mathieu Radjorski, who is a researcher at the University

02:14of Versailles and an expert on security issues.

02:16Thank you so much for joining us.

02:17I mean, it really looks like this opening ceremony is the main cause for concern at

02:23this stage from a security point of view.

02:25Why is that, do you think?

02:27Good evening.

02:29Well, obviously it's an unprecedented event and the size of it is unprecedented.

02:35And also the amount of people expected along the river is unprecedented.

02:40Well, first it was announced that there would be half a million people along the river,

02:45along that six kilometer strip for the ceremony.

02:48Now it's been reduced to a little over 300,000.

02:51But that's a massive amount of people.

02:54And the complicated issue with this is that Paris is a very dense city.

03:01Traffic is difficult there.

03:02So whenever you need to bring, if you need to bring a security squad or rescue squad

03:09along the river, it's very hard to do it through the road.

03:13So you will have to use the river in case anything happens.

03:18And basically on that day, there will be 45,000 police officers mobilized for the event, which

03:26is probably the largest concentration of police, of law enforcement agents in one spot

03:34in the history of France.

03:35I mean, we've had some officials sort of floating this idea of a plan B for the opening ceremony,

03:43something perhaps a little bit more contained, a little bit less ambitious.

03:46I mean, do you think there is a real danger that that opening ceremony could be cancelled?

03:52Yes, actually, President Macron mentioned a plan B and even a plan C in an interview

03:58a few days ago.

04:00And of course, if the security risk is high, if there's information intelligence basically

04:09indicating that there's an imminent threat, there is a risk that they move the ceremony

04:15to a safer location and to a location that is easier to control.

04:20Well, right now, it's impossible to say how high is that risk.

04:25What is the possibility of this happening?

04:31But nevertheless, the French authorities have definitely that in mind.

04:37I mean, they can't anticipate every single risk there is.

04:41But how well prepared would you say the French police and the other security services are

04:48in this country for the Olympics?

04:50Well, there's a lot to say about that.

04:54Well, first of all, France is used to organising big events.

04:59There was the Rugby World Cup last year.

05:01There was the Euro in football in 2016.

05:05And I could list many other events.

05:08So it's nothing new here.

05:11Nevertheless, risks are high.

05:13The event is unprecedented.

05:17There might be shortages of private security because it's important to mention that approximately

05:2317,000 private security agents will be mobilised for the event.

05:29And there are apparently recruitment problems.

05:33So once again, it's very hard to answer three months ahead.

05:39Authorities are reassuring people saying, you know, everything will be ready.

05:43But there are slight alarms here and there about that event.

05:48In terms of additional measures, I mean, some countries, notably Greece, today offered some

05:53assistance with policing the event.

05:55Do you think that's the sort of thing we might see more of for kind of global events happening

06:00in Europe, a kind of pooling of resources, a pooling of police services?

06:04Because I can imagine that being very helpful on the one hand.

06:06But on the other hand, I can also imagine it causing a lot of confusion, language barriers

06:10and therefore creating perhaps more work than if they hadn't come in the first place.

06:15Yes, absolutely.

06:17That's a good question.

06:18Greece announced that, Poland announced a few weeks ago that it would provide, you know,

06:23military forces, military agents for the event.

06:28So, yes, helping each other seems to be a rational answer and a rational solution.

06:36We're not talking about dozens of thousands of people, obviously.

06:40That's a few hundred here and there.

06:42And like you said, there's the language barrier.

06:45Basically, from what we know, those additional foreign officers will be used for other

06:53activities that don't involve being in contact with the public, like, for instance,

06:57sniffing dogs for, you know, prevention of explosives, things like that.

07:05So, that's probably something useful.

07:10And once again, let's not forget that this is happening during the summer.

07:14There will be 45,000 police officers mobilized for a ceremony, 30,000 for the other days,

07:20while other things will be going on, especially people going on vacation across the country,

07:25being on the roads and burglaries still happening and drug trafficking still happening.

07:30So, it's not like everything will be on pause, security-wise, for those two weeks of Olympics.

07:36So, I think any extra hand is needed now by the French government.

07:41Just lastly, for someone who's watching, who's thinking,

07:44shall I stick around in Paris for these games or shall I get out of town on a holiday?

07:49How disruptive are we talking here for these games to the daily lives of people who live here in Paris?

07:56Well, it kind of depends on the neighborhood where you live.

08:00Many Parisians are saying, you know, I'm going away because what people who are listening to us abroad

08:07need to realize is that the security perimeter is along the Seine River throughout the Olympics,

08:13not only for the ceremony, and really the river cuts the city in two.

08:17So, you will be having this sort of barrier in the middle of the city,

08:22separating the left and the right side of the river.

08:26So, that's very disruptive, a lot of security measures.

08:30Also, a lot of people coming from abroad.

08:33So, transportation will be back.

08:35We're actually having announcements or demands by the local authorities to not use public transportation,

08:41but walk during the Olympics, to not overload the transportation system.

08:45So, yeah, it's sort of a nightmare that is coming for the local population.

08:50Okay, Matiu Zagorodzki, thank you very much indeed for taking the time to speak to us about that.

08:54You're welcome, my pleasure.

08:55Thank you.

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