Paris Olympics to have largest safety operation since WW2 after terror assaults

One of the biggest security operations since WW2 has been launched in Paris to safeguard the Olympics.

More than 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers, a squadron of Rafale fighter jets, AWACs surveillance planes, Reaper drones and sniper-carrying helicopters will patrol the French capital. ‌Cameras loaded with artificial intelligence software will scour the streets for abandoned packages and potential crowd surges.

A 93-mile exclusion zone will be set up around the city for Friday’s opening ceremony when teams will parade down the River Seine.‌ The biggest military camp since WW2 has been established in the city to house soldiers throughout a competition taking place at a time of active conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

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Troops can be scrambled to all Olympic venues within 30 minutes.

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Detailed background checks have identified 3,900 potential attendees who have been barred. The homes of 155 suspects with possible terrorist links have been raided ahead of the Games.

Around 40 countries have supplied up to 2,000 police reinforcements for the operation to safeguard 10,500 athletes plus millions of spectators.

Rather than build an Olympic park with venues grouped together outside of the city centre – like Rio de Janeiro in 2016 or London in 2012 – Paris has chosen to host events in the heart of the bustling capital.‌

That has thrown up a massive security threat which means visitors will be confronted by armed military patrols on the streets.‌ General Éric Chasboeuf, deputy commander of counter-terror military force Sentinelle, said residents had grown used to the sight following a string of previous terror attacks on the city.

“At the beginning it was very strange for them to see us and they were always avoiding our presence, making a detour,” he said.‌ “Now, it’s in the landscape.”‌

In France in the last 13 months alone men acting alone have carried out knife attacks targeting tourists in Paris, children in a park in an Alpine town, and a teacher in high school.‌

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said those flagged in background checks had been barred from attending for suspected Islamic radicalisation, left-or right-wing political extremism and holding significant criminal records.

“We’re particularly attentive to Russian and Belorussian citizens,” he added.

Darmanin said 155 people considered to be “very dangerous” potential terror threats were also being kept away from the opening ceremony and the Games with police searching their homes for weapons and computers.‌

Human rights group Saccage 2024 hit out at the “repressive arsenal ” of Olympic security.

“Is it reasonable to offer one month of ‘festivities’ to the most well-off tourists at the cost of a long-term securitisation legacy for all residents of the city and the country?” the group asked in a statement.