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“Of course. It’s been a daily job for us at the Ministry of the Interior for three years now.” This is how French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin answered the question of Le Parisien whether the security forces are ready for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. His optimism is shared by the socialist mayor of the French capital, Anne Hidalgo.
Darmanin said that currently the Secret Service has no signals about potential threats related to the games. He admitted, however, that the risk of terrorist attacks remains high, especially from the Islamic State-Khorasan organization (which claimed responsibility for the recent attack in Russia).
Tens of thousands of police and soldiers
A total of 53,000 policemen and soldiers should supervise the security of the games in Paris, and 45,000 security guards are expected for the opening ceremony. In the east of Paris – on the plain of Reuilly – an improvised military camp with a capacity of 5,000 men will be built.
Just selecting the people employed in organizing the event was a difficult task for the security apparatus.
As many as 2,720 applicants were rejected for security reasons, 82 of them are marked with the letter S in the police materials, which are people who pose a risk to the state. Another 304 people figured in the police forces in a different way – in 54 cases they were followers of the ultra-right, in 104 they were activists of the ultra-left, and 146 people were associated with radical Islam.
Another 579 applicants were then eliminated due to interference from abroad – for example, they were Russians and Belarusians suspected of possible espionage.
Paris before the sports festival
From the point of view of safety, the closure of the strip around the Seine on July 18 to 26 will be a very fundamental measure. Other closures around sports venues will follow during the games. According to the police, the protection of the participants of the opening ceremony should be ensured by QR codes, without which you cannot get to the area marked in gray. To obtain a QR code, you need to apply for a so-called one on the website The Games Pass. You can apply from May 13, it is issued by the police prefecture.
Traffic restrictions
Expect significant restrictions in transport. According to the Minister of the Interior, about 15 metro stations will be closed in the anti-terrorist perimeter for the aforementioned week, and six metro and tram stations will be closed during the entire Olympics. These are the Champs-Elysées stations – Clémenceau, Concorde, Tuileries, Colette-Besson, Porte-d’Issy and Porte de Versailles.
In this area, only four bridges will remain open for car traffic: Notre Dame, Sully, Léna and Invalidovna.
Olympics in Paris 2024 at a glance
- Which sports can we look forward to and who is the mascot of the Paris Olympics? How did the Czech athletes do in Tokyo 2021? Read below in the article.
- Instead of stadiums outside the city, Parisians bring sports and ceremonies to the center and monuments. Check out the photos below for what the launch and sport will look like in Paris.
The question is how much the parliamentary elections, which will take place on June 30 and July 7, can affect security in Paris. Surveys indicate that support for the far-right National Association has not decreased since the European elections, but at the same time, the party has many opponents, especially in the capital. Demonstrations after the end of the elections are thus practically certain.
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, said in the above-mentioned interview that he is only concerned about the first day after the elections, according to him, it should be calm during the Olympics.
As for crime, according to the latest police statistics in Paris reduces. Police actions directed against drug gangs, such as the Place net operation, as well as the more frequent presence of police officers on public transport, have contributed to this.
The most common is the theft of things from the car
In the area where the most competitions will take place, the police are carrying out a “zero crime” operation, which they started already in 2022. In the Trocadéro – Champ de Mars – Eiffel Tower area, there was a decrease of 58 percent in physical attacks in the first three months of 2024 (compared to with the same period in 2023) and property attacks fell by 18 percent over the same period.
The police officers also identified the neighborhoods where individual types of crime occur most often. Car theft is highest in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The most common crime is the theft of things from cars – although their number has decreased slightly, there are still over 16,000 of them per year. The 16th and 19th arrondissements of Paris are again the most risky in this regard.
Peripheral arrondissements, specifically the 19th, 15th, 12th, 13th and 20th arrondissements of Paris, “lead” in intentional assaults and bodily harm. Due to the small population, there is a relatively high number of attacks even in the first arrondissement of Paris, which is logical considering that it is heavily visited by Parisians and tourists.
Deliberate damage to property is most common in the 16th and 19th arrondissements of Paris. Compared to the situation a few years ago, the security situation in the 18th arrondissement, in which the famous Montmartre is located, has improved significantly.
You can find all the information from the Ministry of the Interior on this interactive page the map.
