PARIS >> The 2015 terrorist attacks left the city angry and sad and convinced Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to campaign for the Olympics.
Recalling the terrifying afternoon in January of that year when masked gunmen burst into the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and opened fire, killing 12 people, he said: “We have to do something to unite.'' “I told myself, 'No,'” he said in a recent interview. “Something that's very powerful, very peaceful, and allows us to move forward. So I threw myself into it.”
Nine years later, the Summer Olympics are scheduled to open in Paris in July, with France on the highest level of terror alert following last month's attack on a Moscow concert hall. However, this will be the first time that the opening ceremony will be held inside a barricaded stadium. Instead, the athletes will ride boats down the Seine through the dense heart of the ancient city in front of 500,000 spectators packed into the stands and leaning out of the windows.
Although some say this makes the ceremony an obvious target, Hidalgo and other government officials have full confidence in the security plan.
“The best response is to do it, but do it seriously and professionally,” the mayor said, adding, “If they don't do it out of fear, they won. And they didn't win.”
Many security experts also said they had confidence in the preparations.
“The current plan for the opening ceremony is that Paris will be refueled,” said Frédéric Pechenard, a former head of France's national police. “French police spare no expense.”
President Emmanuel Macron said in a recent television interview that officials had developed ideas for a ceremony that would be completely new, open to the public and create a spectacle that would “show France in the best light.” The goal, he said, is “to show that we are capable of extraordinary things.”
Still, the security challenges are clear and numerous.
The procession walks 6.9 miles along the river, passing hundreds of historic buildings of all eras, shapes, and sizes, including the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. There are over 100 access points. An uneven roof and incongruous windows. And beneath it lies a maze of pipes, tunnels, and sewers. And then there are the rivers, with their own swells, swirls, connections, and traffic.
“It will require a very long and very complex security operation, and we cannot eliminate all risks,” said Bertrand Cavallier, former commander of France's National Military Police Training School.
Since the deadly Islamist attacks in 2015, France has sadly become accustomed to the threat of terrorism and soldiers patrolling crowded squares and train stations with their fingers on the triggers of machine guns. The latest accident occurred in December, killing one tourist and injuring three others.
Olympic organizers say the possibility of terrorism was factored into Olympic planning from the beginning. During months of preparation, some adjustments to the opening ceremony's original plans were made in response to safety concerns, such as reducing the number of spectators allowed along the river.
They also mention their experiences at big events. For example, in 2016 France hosted the European Football Championships, which attracted around 600,000 foreign spectators, noted Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris Olympic Committee. Even highly publicized failures, such as the dangerous crowd control issue blamed on security officials' mistakes during the 2022 Champions League soccer final, have taught important lessons, officials say.
“Every decision made since 2015 was taken from a security perspective,” Estangue said in an interview.
He added, “For the last three years, we've been on a daily, site-by-site, almost hourly basis to understand exactly what our needs are.”
A rough outline of the plan has been made public.
The area adjacent to both banks of the river and extending for several miles beyond the course of the ceremony will be marked as a protected area and closed to motor vehicle traffic eight days before the ceremony.
The 20,000 people who live and work there must apply for a QR code and undergo a screening process, and those without a QR code will not be able to enter the country.
During this time, the river will be closed to navigation.
On the night of the ceremony, 93 miles of airspace over and around Paris will be closed, as will all four nearby airports, including Charles de Gaulle, Europe's third largest.
Paris police secure underground sewers and tunnels. Subway stations within the border will be closed, as will businesses and restaurants.
Soldiers inspect boats transporting athletes to the river during the parade.
Four police officers trained in tracking and disarming drones will monitor the skies.
Some 45,000 police and military police will be swarming Paris and its suburbs, about 10 times the usual number.
About 100 diver bomb experts are scheduled to inspect the waters. Approximately 650 police officers in a specialized anti-terrorism unit. More than 700 firefighters specialize in thwarting nuclear and chemical attacks. Approximately 2,000 private security personnel guard areas with paying spectators. The 2,500 foreign officers included some from the United States, many of whom were accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs.
“There will be a military police or police officer for every square meter,” said one of the country's anti-terrorist forces, which was formed after the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack, in which 11 Israeli Olympians took part. said Ghislain Reti, who heads the he was killed “There's been a tremendous amount of intelligence work going on. I honestly think it's going to be a great party.”
As he speaks during a security training exercise, more than 40 members of his team use special armored vehicles to storm an abandoned office building on the outskirts of Paris, flying from the roof suspended from a helicopter. Escaped.
Security at this year's Olympics will be much stronger than what London was under at the 2012 Olympics. It will also surpass the record number of police officers who quelled riots that erupted across France last summer.
“We've never seen anything like this before,” said Guillaume Falde, a security expert who teaches at Paris' Polytechnic University.
Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin told a French newspaper this month that French security services thwart, on average, one planned attack every other month. He said there were no specific threats against the Olympics.
So far, all 206 delegations, including a selection of 10,500 Olympic athletes, are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, and all 120 countries' leaders have expressed their intention to attend, said Marc Guillaume, a senior Paris region government official. It is said that it is showing. They considered this a vote of confidence.
The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, which oversees the safety of U.S. diplomats at major international events, also expressed satisfaction with the deal, officials said, adding that the agency, which two years ago became exclusively involved in the Olympics, Two members were reportedly dispatched to Paris to do so.
To address concerns, authorities have gradually reduced the number of spectators allowed to sit in stands along the river and on many bridges, from 600,000 to about 300,000. One-third of him will pay for the ticket. The rest are free spectators who must be invited by government officials or Olympic committees.
Opinion polls show Parisians are divided on plans for the opening ceremony. While some are concerned, many are used to living under terror alert and see the Olympics as just another target. They further complain about the commuting nightmare and congestion that the Olympics will bring.
“We don't want fear to spoil the tournament. It's going to be a tough time,” Jeanne Huyguet, 23, said on a recent afternoon, enjoying a sunny lunch break with a friend on a bench overlooking the Seine. . “If you don't do that, you end up not being able to do anything,” she added.
A few weeks ago, President Macron said that if there was a serious terrorist threat, the government would be prepared to move the ceremony from the Seine and hold it at Place de la Trocadéro or the national stadium, the Stade de France.
“I was shocked when the sports minister said there was no plan B,” said former national police chief Peshnar, noting that ministers had previously insisted there would be no change to the plan. . “I'm relieved to hear that's not the case.”
Still, he noted that the opening ceremony was only the first few hours of a 17-day event, which will be followed by the Paralympics, all of which will be guarded by thousands of police officers and private security personnel.
“It's not just the opening ceremony that needs to be secured,” he said. “The real game comes after that.”
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This article was originally published in The New York Times.
