“We are ready,” promises Macron four days before the opening of the Games

Paris, Jul 22 (EFE).- French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that everything is ready for the Olympic Games and the opening ceremony, which for the first time will be held outside a stadium, along the Seine River.

“We are ready,” said the head of state during a visit to the Olympic Village, located in the Saint-Denis department, on the northern outskirts of Paris.

Macron, accompanied by, among others, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, and the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, toured some of the facilities of the Villa, such as the police station built inside.

He also briefly chatted with security personnel and workers at the facilities before meeting French athletes for lunch.

Macron thanked the workers and agents for their sacrifices in ensuring the “successful” holding of the Games.

France will deploy its internal security forces “like never before,” Macron said, not only “for the opening ceremony but throughout the Olympic season.”

And this will be, he stressed, thanks to “250,000 men and women who sacrifice their family time” and who will allow the French to feel “collectively proud.”

“Thank you with all my heart, on behalf of all French people, for allowing us to welcome the world, the Olympic movement and to host great Games,” he also said during his visit.

French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to the Olympic Village, located in the Saint-Denis department, on the northern outskirts of Paris. EFE/EPA/MICHEL EULER / POOL MAXPPP OUT

Security reinforced for the Israeli delegation

Ensuring security has been one of the main concerns of these Games, especially given the unprecedented nature of the opening ceremony, which will be attended by 326,000 people, including 200 heads of state and government.

In France, the anti-terrorist surveillance system has remained at its highest level of alert since the Hamas attacks last October against Israel and the subsequent repression by the Israeli state against the Gaza Strip.

Last night, in an interview on France 2, the French Interior Minister explained that the Israeli Olympic delegation will be subject to reinforced security by the French police.

“They are particularly targeted by (possible) attacks (…) They are welcome, we are proud that they are there and that they can play sports,” Darmanin said.

The opening ceremony will see 90 boats carrying the 206 Olympic delegations parade along 6 kilometres of the River Seine and, although the details of the event are being kept secret, musical numbers and a grand spectacle of lights and fireworks are expected. A hot air balloon has also been spotted in the Tuileries Gardens, which have been closed for more than a week.

Up to 45,000 officers will be deployed across the capital on that day, while on other days the operation will consist of between 30,000 and 35,000 officers per day, depending on the different events taking place each day.

The Olympic Village, for its part, has already begun to receive some of the 14,000 athletes and their companions who will stay there during the Games.

French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to the Olympic Village, located in the Saint-Denis department, on the northern outskirts of Paris. EFE/EPA/MICHEL EULER / POOL MAXPPP OUT

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