The Olympic Games face a unique set of potential security threats in Paris. Organizers say everyone will be safe
Paris 2024 organizers say the Games will be safe for those attending. Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters CNN —
Millions of visitors and thousands of athletes will flock to Paris for the Summer Olympic Games, but the great unknown for organizers is the potential risk of protests, terrorism and cyber attacks.
The Olympics have been a target for attacks in the past, notably the 1972 Munich Games where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Then in 1996, a bomb blast killed one woman and injured more than 100 people at the Atlanta Games.
France plans to deploy around 35,000 police each day during the Games, peaking at 45,000 for the Opening Ceremony, a spokesperson at the French interior ministry told CNN.
In addition, 10,000 soldiers will be deployed in the Paris region – an effort supported by 1,800 police officers from around the world, they added.
France will also deploy 20,000 private security personnel, Reuters reported.
Opening Ceremony like no-other
The Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics is set to take place on July 26 and will be the first ever held on a river.
Some 104,000 people in stands lining the River Seine will watch the event, with 220,000 more on raised roadways along a six-kilometer (nearly four miles) stretch of the river, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
For years, French officials had boasted that some 600,000 people would attend the Opening Ceremony, but that number has been slashed due to safety concerns.
Earlier this year, Darmanin said that an “anti-terrorist security perimeter” will be put in place in the days leading up to the event.
Nicolas Nordman, Deputy Paris Mayor in charge of security, told CNN that authorities had been working for months to try to anticipate what might happen and were confident the ceremony would be safe.
He said a “strictly controlled” zone alongside the banks of the river will be closed off before the Opening Ceremony and anyone entering into it would be checked.
That security perimeter came into effect last Thursday, with people living, working and visiting places inside the restricted zone required to carry a pass to enter. Individuals had to apply for an access pass prior to Thursday.
“These controls must ensure that no ill-intentioned people enter the area. There is also the need for controls on the day of the ceremony,” said Nordman.
The Opening Ceremony will be held alongside the banks of the River Seine. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
“This means that when people come to the site, we have to make sure that there are no security risks.”
However, Nordman says he recognizes the need for Parisians to get on with their lives.
“What we want is for people to enjoy the Olympic Games. One of the conditions for them to enjoy them is to be safe,” he added. “But we also want them to be able to move around in order to enjoy them.”
Worldwide unrest
Paris has experienced terrorist attacks in the past, notably in 2015, when gunmen armed with assault rifles and explosives targeted six locations across the French capital, killing 130 people and wounding 494.
Three explosions occurred outside the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris, killing a pedestrian. The Stade de France is where track and field events and Rugby Sevens matches will take place at the Paris Olympics.
Dale Buckner, CEO of the security firm Global Guardian which has provided advice for those traveling to France for the Games, told CNN the country has “a lot of enemies” due to its stance on a wide range of international and domestic issues.
“Because of their status in the world and because of the cultural blending of religion and populations of people from around the world as an open democracy, there’s going to be detractors and supporters, which creates friction,” Buckner said.
There is also growing domestic unrest, powered in part by the recent French elections which saw a battle between the left and far-right.
To underline the threat to France, Interior Minister Darmanin confirmed security forces had detained a “member of the extreme-right” this week who was “suspected of wanting to commit violent action during the Olympic Games.”
According to Darmanin, the man had an “intention to intervene during a phase of the torch relay.”
Darmanin said France has banned nearly 4,000 people from attending events tied to the Games.
That group includes members of the extreme left and the extreme right, radical Islamists and suspected radical Islamists, he said.
Authorities are also “paying particular attention to Russian and Belarusian citizens,” Darmanin added.
Organizers, though, said they are fully confident in their ability to prevent attacks of any kind and will lean on AI-driven video analysis to keep the events safe.
“We try to anticipate all situations. We have carried out exercises. There have been many drills, numerous simulations of crises, events that are sometimes quite extraordinary, where everyone, for a whole day, tries to anticipate and then respond,” Nordman added.
“We’ve done a lot of exercises, some of them extremely complicated. Today, we’re ready and we’re calm. We know that we have put in place everything we could to ensure safety, which is a key objective for us.”
Security in Paris will be bolstered by the presence of the military, which will be supporting the police throughout the Games, patrolling streets and providing backup in the form of dog teams and anti-drone expertise, according to General Eric Chasboeuf, second in command of the military mission for the Games.
Soldiers leave for a patrol at the military camp set up on the outskirts of Paris. Thomas Padilla/AP
He told CNN that a base has been set up inside Paris, on a scale not seen since World War II.
“I’ve never seen such a huge and massive security deployment in our capital, even since the tragic terrorist attempt that we suffered from in 2015,” Chasboeuf said. “It will be completely secure.”
Invisible threat
According to Buckner, one of the biggest threats to France’s bid to host a safe Olympics could come from an invisible source – cyberattacks – with the country’s electric, communication or transportation grids potentially at risk.
“We have an offensive strategy, and we have a defensive strategy that are being executed every second of every day simultaneously. Because if we don’t … you will see cyber disruption,” Buckner said.
“The big change for this Olympics is that I think that there is a cyber war going on every second of every day. The cyber war is going to go all the way through the Olympics.”
CNN’s Maeva Labbe-Maalouf, Joseph Ataman and Saskya Vandoorne contributed reporting.