Snipers, Divers, AI: Securing Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

AFP/APP

Paris: French security forces are implementing an extensive security operation to ensure the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, taking place on the River Seine Friday evening, proceeds without incident. 

The scale of the operation is unprecedented for an Olympic opening ceremony, which for the first time will start outside a stadium. Approximately 45,000 police and paramilitary officers will be deployed, supported by 10,000 soldiers and 20,000 private security guards. 

The security perimeter spans over six kilometres (four miles) along the Seine, encompassing around 300,000 ticketed spectators and hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists in nearby buildings. 

A no-fly zone, extending 150 kilometres around Paris, will be enforced an hour before the ceremony begins at 7:30 pm (1730 GMT), grounding or redirecting all aircraft at one of Europe’s busiest airport hubs. 

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin emphasised the significance of the event, stating, “This opening ceremony is the most extraordinary thing a country can do,” amid heightened terror threat alerts in France. 

Frederic Pechenard, former head of the French police, noted the inherent risks: “Security of 100 percent does not exist. The bigger and more difficult and complex a site is, the higher the risks are.” 

The massive deployment of specialised equipment and personnel highlights the challenges of securing an open-air event with fast-moving water and numerous vantage points. Police snipers will be stationed on high points along the route, following an assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 13. 

Navy and police vessels, equipped with divers and sonar, will secure the river’s depths. All 85 boats participating in the parade and those moored along the route have been screened by sniffer dogs and bomb disposal experts. River traffic will be halted, and barriers and deployable nets will be used if needed. 

Nicole Deal, chief of security for Team USA, expressed confidence in the security measures: “For those of us that have been here on the ground, we’ve seen the security footprint here. It is impressive. I have never seen one quite like this in any other Games.” 

Initially, the Seine concept for the opening ceremony faced skepticism, with French criminologist Alain Bauer describing it as “criminal madness” in 2022. Plans for up to a million spectators have since been scaled back due to evolving risks from global conflicts and domestic tensions. 

Central Paris has been fortified, with metal barriers enclosing both banks of the Seine. Access is restricted to residents and individuals with hotel bookings. The French army will oversee anti-drone operations using advanced electronic warfare technology. 

Jean-Michel Fauvergue, former head of the police commando unit RAID, highlighted the importance of drone surveillance: “Drones are now a real risk and that’s why measures have been taken.” 

Security forces will deploy drones and AI-augmented cameras to monitor crowds and detect suspicious activities, marking the controversial introduction of new technology in France.