French troops ready for unprecedented Olympic Games Ceremony
With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games kicking off late next week, French security has been heavily deployed around the city as thousands of athletes and millions of spectators are expected to flood Paris.
Security can be seen in the form of everything from dogs to drones situated around Paris’s river Seine where what is being dubbed “the most spectacular and accessible opening ceremony in Olympic history” will take place.
The ceremony on 26 July will begin with a boat parade along the Seine followed by official protocol taking place in a temporary mini-stadium in the Jardins du Trocadero. It is only the second opening ceremony in the history of the Olympic Games to be held outside a stadium and French security has reportedly “tried to plan for every eventuality”.
According to a senior officer, a more than 800-strong deployment will need to be prepared to maintain safety in a crowded public urban environment while 10,000 athletes are involved in a waterborne parade down the river.
“It’s a complex and unprecedented mission,” the officer said while promising that security is ready “to adapt to any changes and any evolution of the threat.”
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the Opening Ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Paris 2024 parade of athletes will be held on the Seine river with boats for each national delegation!!!! 😍#Paris2024
pic.twitter.com/1K0s5dvDJu— (@Aguywithsmile) July 17, 2024
Military preparation includes boats, combat divers, sonar detectors, intelligence-gathering units with drones, canine teams, and troops equipped with anti-drone weapons as security teams prepare for an unprecedented variety of threats. Reporters spoke with troops possessing high-tech equipment ranging from underwater guns to “jamming rifles” that block signals of hostile unmanned aircraft.
On Thursday morning French security forces began locking down central Paris closing riverside districts to most vehicles and only allowing authorised boats into a protected zone around the Seine as water barriers are set up.
A water gate has been installed near the Austerlitz railway station in eastern Paris and surface nets have been prepared that can instantly drop to the bottom of the Seine hampering potential underwater attacks.
Central Paris locks down for Olympics as athletes arrive.
Anyone wanting to enter the highest-security “grey zone” along both banks of the Seine, such as residents or tourists with hotel reservations, will need a security pass in the form of a QR codehttps://t.co/ERL0QSuJfR
pic.twitter.com/bHnOMqzIg6— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 18, 2024
Meanwhile, soldiers have been trained with Parrot Anafi drones to patrol the embankments. These quadcopters are fitted with infrared cameras and high-performance zoom to safely survey the area and identify threats.
The ceremony will take place on the back of the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump while the United States presidential candidate spoke at a major public event. Meanwhile, an 18-year-old suspected neo-Nazi was arrested Wednesday on suspicion he was preparing attacks during the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.