the safety device is unprecedented –

Unprecedented security measures in the French capital, already under lockdown on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, while potential threats of attacks are arriving during the long-awaited sporting event. The alert level is therefore very high for the risk of an Islamist terrorist act after the warning transmitted to Paris by Israel, a video threat attributed to Hamas, later declared false, and the arrest of seven people in Belgium suspected of preparing an attack. With over 326 thousand spectators expected – including 230 thousand at the launch ceremony – 160 heads of state and government, 10,300 athletes, the first major opening event of the Paris 2024 Olympics, organized on the Seine tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., involves a series of risks. To anticipate any emergency scenario, 45 thousand police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized to guarantee the security of the pharaonic ceremony, in addition to the army and its 18 thousand soldiers. Added to these are 2,000 private security agents, a thousand Paris police officers, 2,500 foreign police officers and gendarmes from 40 different countries, including England, Spain, Brazil and South Korea. Starting tomorrow, many streets in the capital will be closed to traffic, making it very complicated, if not impossible, for Parisians to get around, many of whom have already ‘fled’.

All the metro stations near the Seine will be closed and many bus lines are diverted, so it will not be easy to get around even by public transport. Several stations have already been closed for a few days or even weeks, such as the Concorde stop, where BMX, breaking and skateboarding events will be held in the square in front. Tomorrow the circulation of numerous lines of the Paris ‘Metro’ network will be heavily impacted and several stations will be closed from the morning and for the whole day, in particular numbers 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, T2, T3; a block that will mainly affect the Champs-Èlysèes district and all the stations near the banks of the Seine, as well as that of Porte de Versailles. The complex and extensive security system involves, in addition to the land one, an air and river dimension, along the Seine, the backdrop for tomorrow’s ceremony. From 6:30 p.m. tomorrow until midnight, the airspace within a radius of 150 km from Paris will be completely closed until midnight; therefore, no aircraft will be able to take off or land at airports in the Paris region (Orly, Roissy, Le Bourget) or at Beauvais. All flights scheduled for this time slot have been cancelled and no aircraft will be authorised to fly over this 150 km zone. This perimeter was established by the authorities to leave a margin of ten minutes to intervene if a suspicious aircraft is detected.

To counter the threat of drones, Jammer guns with a range of several kilometers will be deployed, capable of intercepting any unidentified flying objects. In addition, military helicopters will fly permanently over Paris before and during the ceremony to monitor potentially high-risk areas. On the Seine, 86 boats will be mobilized to ensure security, in addition to the 94 that transport the athletes. Divers and dog teams will check each boat before the ceremony. The army has also installed sonars in the water to detect any unidentified objects or intrusions. Along the Seine, anti-intrusion arms equipped with underwater nets will prevent any unauthorized access to the water. An impressive security protocol to ensure everything runs smoothly.