A ring of steel is in place for Friday’s Olympic Games opening ceremony, with up to 75,000 police, soldiers and security guards on high alert.
Organisers and government officials have taken what they call a “zero risk” approach, with the largest deployment of security personnel in peacetime in French history. It is estimated that the security cost could well exceed the £1billion spent on London 2012.
A total of 44,000 metal barriers have been erected along the banks of the Seine, where a lavish and unprecedented opening ceremony will take place. Residents of certain areas of the city have required QR codes just to access their homes. Under the codename Operation Sentinelle, a military base has been built on the outskirts of the city for 10,000 soldiers, with as many as 45,000 police officers on duty tomorrow night, as well as 20,000 private security guards.
In addition, French airspace within a 150km radius is set to be closed for the first time for the duration of the opening ceremony, which is expected to last three hours. There are also anti-mine teams and anti-drone systems in place, as well as divers patrolling the Seine.
An estimated half-a-million Britons are expected to make the trip to Paris during the course of the Games, with Great Britain lending the support of 250 police officers, along with 50 police dogs, to boost the operation.
More than 100,000 people are expected in the grandstands at tomorrow’s ceremony, with a further 220,000 on raised walkways along a four-mile stretch.
Paris is no stranger to terrorist attacks. In 2015, gunmen killed 130 people and wounded nearly 500 more in six different attacks. While no known threat has been identified in the lead-up, police this week rehearsed a bus hostage situation.
France’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, said: “We do not have any specific threats to the Olympic Games, either from French intelligence services or partner foreign services who are assisting us. We’re obviously attentive to every sign.”
One of the biggest fears is over potential cyber attacks. Earlier this week, a Russian national was arrested by French police suspected of plotting the “destabilisation” of the Games.
Darmanin also said that “1,000 people who we suspect of foreign intelligence” had been blocked from attending the Games during a vetting process.
