Paris is preparing to implement unprecedented security measures in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympics. Some people experience joy while others do not.
During the Olympic Games in Paris, it will be very impossible to enjoy a summer evening stroll along the Seine or a leisurely visit to the Eiffel Tower. It is just not feasible due to the additional security measures.
The city will be divided into districts, and QR codes will be needed by both tourists and locals to pass through police checkpoints. There will be heavy traffic restrictions and the closure of subway stations. It is quite probable that residents will be asked to register any visitors who will be greeting them in the restricted zones.
Professor Mathieu Zagrodzki of the University of Versailles’s department of internal security told DW, “Some of the measures are extremely unpopular, which is why many Parisians are not at all happy that the Games are taking place in their city.” “The Games are happening in Paris because of the fact that the city is hosting the Games.”
At the same time, he called the task ahead of the French capital’s security personnel a “huge challenge.”
Now the same security agencies are using social media to get people mentally ready for the constraints and massive video surveillance that will be coming their way next summer. In the future, AI will make these controls and monitoring easier.
Despite the most rigorous security measures, Sylvia Schenk believes it will still be possible to have a carefree Games experience. Israeli athletes were targeted in a terrorist attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Multiple Summer Olympics have been attended by the former track and field athlete in the role of official. He competed in those Games as well. It is quite unlikely that something similar would occur in Paris, according to Schenk.
She informed the media that the French security forces should have the ability to stop such an incident. “That was a targeted attack on the Israeli team at the Games, not terrorism directed against specators or others.”
But there are concerns about Schenk that she does have. The instability in the Middle East has led to “terrorism threat levels being raised in almost every individual country,” as she was informed.
France has been the target of terrorist attacks in the past
Terrorist attacks in France have been on the rise in recent years, with 2015 seeing the devastating attacks in Paris and 2016 seeing the more minor ones in Nice. This is so even though France has never hosted the Olympics. An incident near the Eiffel Tower happened at the start of December this year, and it is thought that it was influenced by Islamist ideology. Two further victims were hurt by the criminal using a hammer. The event added fuel to the fire surrounding the security of the Olympics.
A great deal of focus will be on the spectacular opening ceremony. The first-ever occurrence of such an event in human history will not occur at a stadium. Rather, the course will be a boat ride down the Seine, passing under the French capital city between the Pont d’Austerlitz and the Pont d’Iena. More than 500,000 spectators are expected to gather along the riverbanks for this 6 km (3.7 km) event.
An estimated 40,000 law enforcement officers and 20,000 private security guards will be present. In addition to the help of the military, Zagrodzki added.
French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera has replied to criticism by saying she disagrees with the notion that the Olympics should be delayed.
She recently made the following comment in a radio interview: “We do not have a plan B; rather, we have a plan A in which there are several B plans.”
One possibility that might be explored, depending on the level of risk, is to decrease the number of spectators.
The French police: how will they enforce the games?
A opportunity to repair the French security forces’ badly damaged reputation, according to Zagrodzki, will present themselves during the Olympics.
“France doesn’t have the most positive image when it comes to the smooth running of sporting events,” said the representative.
There will be repercussions from the 2022 Champions League final at the Stade de France due to the misconduct of the police.
“The problem is that the French police have so far viewed large groups of fans, especially in sport, not as guests to be managed and escorted, but as a threat,” said Zagrodzki, adding that there has to be much better coordination between the emergency services. “This is especially true in the case of sporting events.”
“The international observers will pay close attention to how this is handled.”
Schenk, a practicing lawyer, will be among them; he will not let concerns about safety deter him.
I have a ticket to the Games, therefore I will be there, so I will be traveling to Paris. She stressed that we must not give up our freedoms because terrorist strikes are a real risk.
According to Zagrodzki, many Parisians would see things differently, particularly considering the expected influx of ten million visitors into the French metropolis and the planned security restrictions.
“I’m hearing people say: ‘It’s going to be hell!'”, the lawmaker said.
“Many are hoping to rent out their apartments at a high price and travel until the Olympics are over.”
