Following an examination at first reading, and following the accelerated procedure initiated by the government on December 22, the Senate adopted this Tuesday, January 31, 2023 the bill relating to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, by 245 votes for and 28 against. The text will now be examined in the same manner by the National Assembly.
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A eighteen months from the opening of the Paris 2024 Games, the French Parliament is committing to the implementation of additions to the provisions of the Olympic and Paralympic law of March 26, 2018with above all adaptations to the rules of law relating in particular to the provision of care and training in first aid, Sunday work, the fight against doping and safety.
In fact, at the instigation of the government piloted by Elisabeth Bornethe two Chambers will alternately consider at first reading, and under the expedited procedure, the bill relating to the 2024 Olympics.
On this occasion, the Senate had the first opportunity to examine the text and amend its content. Concretely, after the work carried out in Commissions in mid-January 2023 – i.e. in detail, the Commission for Culture, Education and Communication, the Commission for Social Affairs, and the Commission for Laws – the project has was presented at first reading in public session, on January 24 and 25, then on Tuesday January 31, the date on which the project was adopted.
Several modifications have nevertheless been made to the said project.
The Upper House has thus clarified the derogatory status of the future Olympic and Paralympic Polyclinic which will be located within the Athletes’ Village, by providing the participation of volunteers whose missions will relate to the medical fieldknowing that the operation and coordination of the site will be provided by the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP).
The senators also approved the possibility of derogating from Sunday rest for certain businesses during the Games and in the territories called upon to host competitions, through a simplified prefectural authorization procedure.
With regard to the fight against doping, and with a view to bringing national law into line with the World Anti-Doping Code, the Senate has decided to include provisions in the Sports Code authorizing the French anti-doping laboratory (LADF) to carry out genetic tests during or outside competitions. However, these tests – comparison of fingerprints or examination of genetic characteristics – can only be carried out in the absence of any other technique deemed relevant and after further information has been sent to the athlete concerned.
In addition, in view of the issues related to such a planetary event, the Senate also authorized the exchange of information between the French Agency for the Fight against Doping (AFLD) and the national financial intelligence unit (TRACFIN).
In a completely different register, the senators have chosen to remove the limitation according to which the new specific parking permits for taxis accessible to people with disabilities could only be granted to legal persons who already hold ten parking permits. parking lots. Elected officials felt that this preliminary threshold raised a certain number of questions regarding the principle of equality, thus leaving it up to the regulatory power to set the conditions necessary for the operation of the new authorisations.
But beyond these aforementioned issues, the Senate has above all taken a sharp look at the issue of Games security and, more broadly, major sporting events.
Also, the Upper House of the French Parliament has reinforced the guarantees governing the use, on an experimental basis, of algorithmic processing of images captured by video surveillance and drones.
In concrete terms, the Senate provides in particular for a requirement for human control measures, the systematic training of persons authorized to access reports, support and control by the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL), without forgetting also the association of parliamentarians for the evaluation of the experimental system.
In a certain continuity, the Senate also specified that the use of body scanners would be subject to the express agreement of individuals, while leaving the installation of these scanners to the discretion of the managers of sports grounds.
For those sports speakers by the way – and probably taking into account the images of the fiasco of the Champions League final organized at the Stade de France last year -, the senators decided to strengthen the sanctions against intrusions, with a tort fine of 3,750 euros in the event of intrusion by isolated first-time offenders, instead of a 5th class fine of 1,500 euros, and also specified the penalties incurred in the event of violence committed in sports arenas or during a broadcast in public.
As if to still retain the lessons of the past, the Senate has decided to include in the bill the obligation for spectators to have a nominative, dematerialized and above all tamper-proof access ticket.
Among the other modifications made to the project, the senators also provided that personnel temporarily mobilized for missions to maintain or reinforce the security of the Games can return to their original assignment by December 31, 2024 at the latest. CRS / MNS which are usually deployed in coastal areas and which are asked to help secure the global sporting event in the summer of 2024.
