PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his ministers have been speaking and speaking to reporters ahead of Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony.
Their message is simple: France is ready to ensure the security of the Paris Olympic Games.
The Games will feature the largest security presence in French history, officials said, with 45,000 police and gendarmes on duty Friday and 35,000 deployed each day thereafter during the competition.
Simon Riondet, head of the Paris police’s elite Search and Intervention (BRI) unit, drew an analogy with sports, saying his officers are ready to perform – even if they don’t know exactly when they will have to spring into action.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, be ready when we’re needed,” Riondet told NBC News Tuesday, moments after his team conducted a hostage rescue exercise and killed a terrorist on a bus. “And it’s really hard because, unlike athletes, we don’t have a date.”
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on France 2 on Sunday that no specific, detailed threats had been made against the opening ceremony and confirmed that it would take place as planned on the Seine.
A new intelligence analysis centre, created for these Games, will serve as a hub for information obtained from various French police services.
Retired FBI agent Rob D’Amico, who worked on the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, said his best advice to Paris authorities would be to take any threat seriously, no matter how outlandish.
“I talk about 9/11, we never thought it would happen – so when we got information about it, it was dismissed,” he said.
“Whenever something happens for the first time, it’s very difficult to get the attention of the intelligence community because it’s never happened before.”
Friday’s opening ceremony will be the first of its kind to take place outside the confines of a stadium, posing a unique set of security concerns. The flotilla of 10,500 athletes and 90 boats will travel a 5.5-kilometer course on the Seine River through central Paris.
Riondet, a diplomat, said he was not bothered by having to prepare for an unprecedented event.
“It’s obviously an extra challenge,” he said. “We often train on the Seine and I know it’s going to be very, very enjoyable. If you’re lucky enough to be on a boat, on the Seine, it’s quite extraordinary to see all the buildings. People will be able to see the athletes in a way they’ve never seen before.”
The Olympics will be held in Paris nearly nine years after coordinated terrorist attacks killed 130 people in the deadliest peacetime attack ever in France.
According to authorities, around 50 terrorist attacks have been foiled by intelligence services since 2017.
Of the 45,000 law enforcement officers on duty Friday, 650 members of elite tactical units, snipers and hostage specialists will be present. There will also be 22,000 private security personnel working during the opening ceremony Friday, officials said.
To enter any part of the control zone, whether it’s a few blocks from an Olympic venue or the Seine River, it takes 20 to 30 minutes to pass through checkpoints, depending on traffic and the time of day. Police check everyone’s IDs and compare them to their IDs.
Wooden boards more than 12 feet high are blocking access to popular tourist sites such as the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower and the grounds of Les Invalides ahead of the Games.
On Tuesday, the military presence will also be more visible as Vigipirate, the country’s anti-terrorism unit, will patrol the streets alongside the police and gendarmerie.
A security perimeter will prevent vehicles and most pedestrians from moving around large parts of the city along the Seine River, which runs through Paris. Metro stations and bridges over the river will be closed.
French authorities conducted background checks on 1 million people connected to the Games, including job applicants, volunteers, competitors, coaches and staff, journalists and security companies, identifying 4,350 people as potential security threats, officials said.
D’Amico, the retired FBI agent, said he did not envy Paris security officials, who are running the Olympics during this difficult period in world history, with wars looming in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“Everybody’s going to watch the Olympics to make a name for themselves and that’s why it’s one of the biggest targets,” said D’Amico, who now runs a security consulting firm in Florida.
So far, the only known plot against the Olympics was foiled in May by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI).
A Chechen man has been arrested in Saint-Etienne on suspicion of planning an attack on the city’s football stadium during a competition. The Islamic State (IS) Khorasan Province group, the Central Asian branch of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, is believed to be behind the plot, authorities said.
Protecting the airspace above the Games will be a top priority and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited a military air base on Tuesday to inspect anti-drone systems.
According to Attal, around six drones are now intercepted every day near Olympic sites.
A no-fly zone will be put in place up to 150 kilometres from the centre of Paris on Friday evening.
“Nothing must escape us,” Attal told reporters in Velizy-Villacoublay, southwest of Paris. The French military has prepared to deploy systems capable of detecting, jamming and intercepting drones.
Security will also be stepped up underwater, with 100 mine clearance divers on duty.
“We are preparing for something that is not fully anticipated,” Riondet said. “So we have anticipated thousands of scenarios and we are ready to take over in a scenario that was not anticipated.”
David K. Li reported from Paris and Jean-Nicholas Fievet from London.