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00:00The Paris chief of police warned today that the French capital is going to face major
00:04disruption in the run-up to the start of the Olympics.
00:07The opening ceremony is going to be held along the River Seine on the 26th of July.
00:11It's going to involve 160 boats carrying athletes from all around the world on a six-kilometre-long
00:17route towards the Eiffel Tower.
00:19But this opening ceremony is proving to be a security headache, and it's taking place
00:23against the backdrop of wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
00:26France 24's Selena Sykes filed this report for us.
00:32An unprecedented security operation for an unprecedented opening ceremony.
00:38With 92 days to go, our goal for the opening ceremony is still the same.
00:42To put on an unprecedented show that will be watched by 220,000 people on the upper
00:48banks and 100,000 people on the lower banks of the Seine.
00:52A ceremony running over a six-kilometre course that's never been seen before.
00:58Paris 2024 organisers wanted to make a splash when promising to open the Olympics with a
01:04spectacle along the River Seine, in what would be the first opening ceremony to take place
01:09outside of a stadium in the history of the Games.
01:12But their big ambitions are causing jitters in a city that knows first-hand the threat
01:17of terrorism.
01:18French authorities unveiled on Thursday more detailed security plans for the 26th of July.
01:24Around 20,000 people who live and work along the Seine will be the most affected.
01:30Everyone who wants to enter will be systematically investigated and will need authorisation from
01:36the police.
01:39A security zone around the Seine will be in place on the 18th of July, eight days before
01:44the opening ceremony.
01:46During that period, security measures will effectively cut Paris into two, warned the
01:51head of Paris police.
01:53Security checks of properties overlooking the Seine, the closure of metros and roads
01:57to traffic, as well as stop and searches of individuals and vehicles, are just some of
02:02the other precautions.
02:03All with the aim of pulling off an Olympic ceremony like no other.
02:08For more analysis, we can speak now to Mathieu Radjorski, who is a researcher at the University
02:14of Versailles and an expert on security issues.
02:16Thank you so much for joining us.
02:17I mean, it really looks like this opening ceremony is the main cause for concern at
02:23this stage from a security point of view.
02:25Why is that, do you think?
02:27Good evening.
02:29Well, obviously it's an unprecedented event and the size of it is unprecedented.
02:35And also the amount of people expected along the river is unprecedented.
02:40Well, first it was announced that there would be half a million people along the river,
02:45along that six kilometer strip for the ceremony.
02:48Now it's been reduced to a little over 300,000.
02:51But that's a massive amount of people.
02:54And the complicated issue with this is that Paris is a very dense city.
03:01Traffic is difficult there.
03:02So whenever you need to bring, if you need to bring a security squad or rescue squad
03:09along the river, it's very hard to do it through the road.
03:13So you will have to use the river in case anything happens.
03:18And basically on that day, there will be 45,000 police officers mobilized for the event, which
03:26is probably the largest concentration of police, of law enforcement agents in one spot
03:34in the history of France.
03:35I mean, we've had some officials sort of floating this idea of a plan B for the opening ceremony,
03:43something perhaps a little bit more contained, a little bit less ambitious.
03:46I mean, do you think there is a real danger that that opening ceremony could be cancelled?
03:52Yes, actually, President Macron mentioned a plan B and even a plan C in an interview
03:58a few days ago.
04:00And of course, if the security risk is high, if there's information intelligence basically
04:09indicating that there's an imminent threat, there is a risk that they move the ceremony
04:15to a safer location and to a location that is easier to control.
04:20Well, right now, it's impossible to say how high is that risk.
04:25What is the possibility of this happening?
04:31But nevertheless, the French authorities have definitely that in mind.
04:37I mean, they can't anticipate every single risk there is.
04:41But how well prepared would you say the French police and the other security services are
04:48in this country for the Olympics?
04:50Well, there's a lot to say about that.
04:54Well, first of all, France is used to organising big events.
04:59There was the Rugby World Cup last year.
05:01There was the Euro in football in 2016.
05:05And I could list many other events.
05:08So it's nothing new here.
05:11Nevertheless, risks are high.
05:13The event is unprecedented.
05:17There might be shortages of private security because it's important to mention that approximately
05:2317,000 private security agents will be mobilised for the event.
05:29And there are apparently recruitment problems.
05:33So once again, it's very hard to answer three months ahead.
05:39Authorities are reassuring people saying, you know, everything will be ready.
05:43But there are slight alarms here and there about that event.
05:48In terms of additional measures, I mean, some countries, notably Greece, today offered some
05:53assistance with policing the event.
05:55Do you think that's the sort of thing we might see more of for kind of global events happening
06:00in Europe, a kind of pooling of resources, a pooling of police services?
06:04Because I can imagine that being very helpful on the one hand.
06:06But on the other hand, I can also imagine it causing a lot of confusion, language barriers
06:10and therefore creating perhaps more work than if they hadn't come in the first place.
06:15Yes, absolutely.
06:17That's a good question.
06:18Greece announced that, Poland announced a few weeks ago that it would provide, you know,
06:23military forces, military agents for the event.
06:28So, yes, helping each other seems to be a rational answer and a rational solution.
06:36We're not talking about dozens of thousands of people, obviously.
06:40That's a few hundred here and there.
06:42And like you said, there's the language barrier.
06:45Basically, from what we know, those additional foreign officers will be used for other
06:53activities that don't involve being in contact with the public, like, for instance,
06:57sniffing dogs for, you know, prevention of explosives, things like that.
07:05So, that's probably something useful.
07:10And once again, let's not forget that this is happening during the summer.
07:14There will be 45,000 police officers mobilized for a ceremony, 30,000 for the other days,
07:20while other things will be going on, especially people going on vacation across the country,
07:25being on the roads and burglaries still happening and drug trafficking still happening.
07:30So, it's not like everything will be on pause, security-wise, for those two weeks of Olympics.
07:36So, I think any extra hand is needed now by the French government.
07:41Just lastly, for someone who's watching, who's thinking,
07:44shall I stick around in Paris for these games or shall I get out of town on a holiday?
07:49How disruptive are we talking here for these games to the daily lives of people who live here in Paris?
07:56Well, it kind of depends on the neighborhood where you live.
08:00Many Parisians are saying, you know, I'm going away because what people who are listening to us abroad
08:07need to realize is that the security perimeter is along the Seine River throughout the Olympics,
08:13not only for the ceremony, and really the river cuts the city in two.
08:17So, you will be having this sort of barrier in the middle of the city,
08:22separating the left and the right side of the river.
08:26So, that's very disruptive, a lot of security measures.
08:30Also, a lot of people coming from abroad.
08:33So, transportation will be back.
08:35We're actually having announcements or demands by the local authorities to not use public transportation,
08:41but walk during the Olympics, to not overload the transportation system.
08:45So, yeah, it's sort of a nightmare that is coming for the local population.
08:50Okay, Matiu Zagorodzki, thank you very much indeed for taking the time to speak to us about that.
08:54You're welcome, my pleasure.
08:55Thank you.