- Author, Andrew Harding
- Role, Correspondent in Paris
A bevy of disappointed tourists glared through the maze of metal fences lining the Seine River. Before them, Notre Dame and other Parisian treasures lay, tantalizingly out of reach.
“We don’t have a code,” said a woman from Mexico, watching others β armed with the necessary security QR code β pass, with a beep of approval, through a police checkpoint.
Further down, next to the Eiffel Tower, a tired couple lugging large suitcases made a slow U-turn on a crowded sidewalk.
“Closed. You’ll have to walk,” a French gendarme had just told them, heading south.
As Paris prepares to unveil its unique Olympic opening ceremony – a river-based extravaganza that will see athletes on burning barges parade through the heart of the French capital on Friday night – the country’s police and armed forces are putting the finishing touches touches on an equally unprecedented security operation.
“We are ready,” said a jubilant President Emmanuel Macron, his usual bluster seemingly unfazed by weeks of political turmoil sparked by his recent shock decision to dissolve the French parliament.
The security operation β the phrase hardly does its scale β involves the largest peacetime deployment of security forces in French history, with up to 75,000 police, soldiers and hired guards patrolling Paris at any one time.
Roads and metro stations have been closed. About 44,000 dams have been erected. And an elaborate QR code system has been created for residents and others seeking access to the Seine River and its islands.
There were, inevitably, problems and frustrations in a city that would normally be full of limitless foreign tourists.
“I’m a little worried. I have never seen it so calm. Ninety percent of the customers have gone,β said a waiter, Omar Benabdallah, 25, surveying the empty tables on a sidewalk on the Γle de la CitΓ©.
However, French authorities insist the unrest will be short-lived β many of the barricades along the Seine will be removed after Friday’s opening ceremony β and well worth it, with people treated to a spectacular show celebrating history and the beauty of Paris.
βI wouldn’t describe it as a nightmare. We are focused and determined,β General Lionel Catar said with a half-smile. He is responsible for coordinating the work of approximately 5,500 French soldiers brought into the capital.
General Catar acknowledged the “extraordinary” scale of the Olympic and Paralympic security operation, but explained that it had evolved from France’s pre-existing Operation Sentinelle, a decades-long response to a series of deadly attacks by Islamist groups and individuals.
“We have demining teams. We have dog teams. There are anti-drone systems, radars and divers patrolling the Seine River,β General Catar said.
The decision to move the operational headquarters from the outskirts of Paris to the large, sprawling “Γcole Militaire” behind the Eiffel Tower was based on advice from British police following their experience of the 2012 London Olympics.
βI think their headquarters was a little far from the city center. We were advised to be close to the responsible politicians and the police,β he said.
Around 250 British officers β and 50 police dogs β will be in France in the coming weeks, with some taking part in French foot patrols around central Paris. They are among 1,750 foreign police officers from dozens of countries taking part in the operation, including Spain, Germany, South Korea and Qatar.
βWe envisage nearly half a million UK citizens coming to enjoy the Games. This is the first time we have been able to send officers to a major event [abroad] in this way,” said Chief Superintendent Matt Lawler, head of the National Police Coordination Centre.
There was also direct military cooperation between France and the UK on anti-drone technology, particularly during the opening ceremony.
French officials say no specific threats have been made to the Games, but that they are concerned about “militarized terrorism” β either from abroad or from France. They also focus on the risk of cyber attacks that could target ticketing systems and other infrastructure.
In recent months the government has expressed growing anger over what it believes is a Kremlin-backed online campaign to raise exaggerated fears about security β and about France’s readiness for the Olympics.
“Interference and distortion of information is not only done by Russia, but also by other countries that we closely monitor. We are not naive. We hope that an Olympic truce will be observed … by all countries,” said Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister.
Earlier in the day, on the outskirts of Paris, an elite group of French police conducted another rehearsal for a hostage situation on a bus. Amid gunfire and loud explosions, the unit – the same one that responded to the Bataclan attack in 2015 – rescued political activists trapped inside the bus.
“We feel impatient. We have spent more than two years preparing for these Games. Hopefully we won’t have to take any action,” said unit commander Simon Riondet.