The French army says such training sessions are regular refresher courses that every soldier takes several times a month and were not implemented in response to recent violent incidents involving patrols.
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00:00Soldiers stationed in Paris have taken part in a close combat training session ahead of
00:07the opening of the Olympic Games.
00:10Infantry forces in full gear staged close contact attacks using batons and dummy rifles
00:16to neutralize a would-be assailant.
00:19The French Army says these training sessions are refresher courses that every soldier takes
00:24several times a month and haven't been implemented in response to a string of violent incidents
00:29involving security forces.
00:33On Thursday, a police officer was injured in a knife attack in the Champs-Elysees neighborhood,
00:38while last Monday a man stabbed and wounded a French soldier patrolling in eastern Paris.
00:44Paris is deploying around 30,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, which run from
00:49July 26 to August 11. Deployment will peak at 45,000 for the opening ceremony on the
00:56Seine River, and about 18,000 members of the military are also helping ensure security,
01:02with thousands of them staying in a camp on the edge of the capital.