All eyes are on Paris as the biggest global sporting event, the Olympics, will kick off on Friday. A grand event as it always is, the Paris Olympics 2024 will witness some of the finest athletes’ participation. However, the city has become a hotbed for notorious activities, raising concerns about security. This year, unlike previous years, the opening ceremony will not be held in a stadium but instead, players will march with the torch alongside the Seine River, making it all the more challenging to secure the historical event.
Paris is ready to host the Olympics but beneath all the grandeur lies a dark past of violence that the city has been reeling under for the past couple of years. With an already tumbling political system, France has been seeing a surge in terrorism and extremism. While authorities are scrambling to ensure the highest safety of the incoming guests, worrisome cases of sabotage and terror threats have come to the fore, putting security measures undertaken into the spotlight. Here’s a look at what has gone wrong before the Olympics 2024 commences.
Terror threat
Yesterday, the French Police arrested two individuals, both 18 years old, for plotting one or more terror attacks during the Olympics, according to CBS News. On Tuesday, one man was arrested in Gironde, located in southwest France, several hundred miles from Paris, while the other man was apprehended on Thursday while traveling. Earlier this week, a Russian man was arrested and charged with “conducting intelligence work on behest of a foreign power” aiming to “provoke hostilities in France.” In May, the police arrested another 18-year-old man accused of plotting to attack a football game during the Olympics. Police claim that the man “wanted to attack spectators, but also security forces and die as a martyr.” All of these incidents have put security officials on high alert, who have foiled a number of terrorist attacks alleged to disrupt the games.
‘Coordinated sabotage’ disrupts rail lines
On Friday, France’s high-speed rail lines were disrupted after they were targeted by multiple “malicious” acts including arson attacks, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. A source close to the investigation informed AFP that the arson attacks on France’s high-speed rail network were deliberate acts of “sabotage.” The source added that the attacks were “clearly coordinated” after train operator SNCF reported suffering from a “massive and large-scale attack aimed at paralyzing the TGV network.” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has claimed that the sabotage of the railway network was planned and executed by Iran. “The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Paris Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” he said.
Israeli athletes threatened
The Paris Olympics are also happening at a time when the world is witnessing two simultaneous wars – the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war. Amid this, Israeli athletes have been receiving death threats via email, messages and phone calls. The calls and messages have indicated that upon arriving in Paris, they would be killed and that attacks similar to those in Munich would be repeated. One of the first messages said, “The People’s Defense Organization announces that it intends to harm any Israeli presence at the Olympics,” adding that “the fate of the Zionists will be like the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza if the Zionists continue to threaten everyone.” “Therefore, you’re not invited to Paris 2024. If you come, take into account that we intend to repeat the events of Munich 1972,” it further said. Apart from death threats, Israeli sportspersons also anticipate an angry reception in Paris including anti-Israel protests, other players refusing to shake their hands and the like.
Strikes cast shadow
As if terror threats and sabotage weren’t enough, workers went on strike Thursday at the five-star hotel in Paris where members of the International Olympic Committee are staying, walking out just a day before the opening ceremony of the Games. According to the major French union CGT, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) paid the hotel where staffers were striking, Hôtel du Collectionneur, 22 million euros ($23.88 million) for the exclusive use of the facility. The CGT said the employees were demanding a pay increase, having not received a raise for seven years. The strike comes after a fifth round of negotiations failed Wednesday.
How is Paris securing the event?
Now that so much has already happened just ahead of the games, authorities are hoping not to be faced with any untoward incident during the Olympics. For this, Paris has deployed 75,000 troops in the city. A Games-time force of up to 45,000 police and gendarmes is also backed up by a 10,000-strong contingent of soldiers that has set up the largest military camp in Paris since World War II, from which soldiers should be able to reach any of the city’s Olympic venues within 30 minutes. Rafale fighter jets, airspace-monitoring AWACS surveillance flights, Reaper surveillance drones, helicopters that can carry sharpshooters, and equipment to disable drones will police Paris skies, which will be closed during the opening ceremony by a no-fly zone extending for 150 kilometers (93 miles) around the capital. Cameras twinned with artificial intelligence software — authorized by a law that expands the state’s surveillance powers for the Games — will flag potential security risks, such as abandoned packages or crowd surges. With inputs from agencies.
