The French Interior Ministry rejected around 5,000 applications for security clearance for Olympic volunteers and staff, around 1,000 of them blocked on suspicion of interference or espionage.
The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out “around one million” administrative investigations into various staff members of the Paris 2024 Games. These investigations identified a range of threats, including interference and espionage, convictions, illegal immigration, radical Islam, far-right and far-left ideologies, etc.
“The interference plan was thwarted,” the ministry said, adding that “Russia is not the only country that could interfere in France.”
The Paris prosecutor's office told CNN that Russian nationals had been the subject of a preliminary investigation in Paris on Tuesday over concerns they were preparing to disrupt the Olympics. The statement did not say how other countries were expected to intervene.
In addition to testing staff, the ministry said it had also tested around 20,000 residents living within the security zone around the Seine, where the opening ceremony will be held.
The statement reiterated that this will be the first time the Summer Olympics opening ceremony will be held outside a stadium, posing major security challenges, but the ministry expressed confidence, saying “preparation is complete” after final rehearsals on Tuesday night.
“France knows how to organise what no one else in the world can organise,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told BFM on Wednesday.
“France knows that once a century it is a season of fraternity and sport, but also a time to show that we are the most beautiful country in the world,” Darmanin said.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account on CNN.com.
