2024 Olympics: security of the Paris Games discussed at interministerial meeting

The government focused on the security of the Paris Olympic Games on Friday during an interministerial committee in Matignon where the security perimeters around the Olympic sites for the summer of 2024 were reviewed, he said. -we learned from government sources. This meeting was scheduled before the outbreak of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in power in the Gaza Strip, and before the assassination of a French teacher in Arras and the attack in Brussels.

The security of the Olympic Games, and in particular that of the open-air opening ceremony on the Seine, raises fears. Questioned Monday by the daily L'Equipe, the head of the committee, Tony Estanguet assured that there was "no alternative" to this unprecedented ceremony along the river. “From the beginning,” he added, “the authorities and Paris 2024 have ensured that security is the number one priority for the success of the Games.”

The exact number of spectators is not yet known: initially there were 100,000 paid seats installed on the lower level of the quays of the Seine, and 500,000 free seats at the top. This gauge is at the center of numerous discussions, even friction, between Paris town hall, the Games organizing committee and the capital's police headquarters. The decision is expected this fall, along with an estimate of the assistance needed from the military, which should compensate for the insufficient number of private security agents. The organizing committee says it needs 17,000 to 22,000 private security agents for the Olympic sites alone, knowing that it will also be necessary to secure the “fan zones”.

The security perimeters around the Olympic sites, some located in the center of Paris, defined by the police headquarters, were also discussed at Matignon, we learned from government sources on Friday. They are eagerly awaited, because in addition to the precise police system, traffic plans and the consequences for local residents and traders in the areas concerned will result.

Former CGT leader Bernard Thibault, who sits on the organizing committee for the Paris Olympics, recently called on the executive to “carefully appreciate the economic and social impact” for companies located within the security perimeters of the sites. Olympics. What about the shops and restaurants along the Champs de Mars or adjacent to the Stade de France? During Friday's meeting, attended by a dozen ministers, including Gérald Darmanin (Interior), Sébastien Lecornu (Army), Clément Beaune (Transport) and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (Sports and Olympics), as well as the prefect of police of Paris, Laurent Nunez, were also discussed the continuity of State services during the Olympics, the arrangements for welcoming foreign delegations, mobility during the Olympics, and popular mobilization, according to government sources. Nothing has leaked from the content of these discussions.