Summer Games in Paris: France relies on maximum security for the Olympics

Immediately before the start of the Olympic Games, Paris resembles a besieged city, and tourists often have no way through. Armed soldiers patrol to protect against terror and danger, police officers secure roadblocks, helicopters are in the air and speedboats with officials are traveling on the Seine. The neighboring country, which has a proven track record in security matters, is relying on full mobilization.

From the beginning, security was a major issue for the games in Paris, which has already been hit by terrorism several times. 45,000 security forces will be deployed for the opening of the games on Friday alone. France declared the highest terror alert level in March.

As Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin recently said, the terrorist threat in France remains “extremely high”, especially ahead of the Olympic Games. There have been repeated incidents in recent days that have alerted the emergency services. There were two knife attacks on a police officer and a soldier, and a car crashed into the terrace of a restaurant.

But this had nothing to do with terrorism and the Olympics. “As far as we know, there is no characteristic threat to the security of the Olympic Games,” Darmanin recently assured in “Le Journal du Dimanche”.

Arrests and foiled terror plans

However, there were several arrests in connection with possible terrorist plans related to the games. At the end of May, investigators foiled plans for an Islamist terrorist attack on a football match during the games in Saint-Étienne in southern France. And recently the Interior Minister announced further arrests. The arrest of a Russian-Ukrainian man in a hotel near the airport who was seriously injured when a homemade explosive device exploded also caused alarm.

“The supporters of the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda in Europe almost certainly intend to attack the Olympic Games in Paris,” says an analysis by the global intelligence company Recorded Future on the specific danger of attacks. However, due to the security precautions and the terror alert being raised to the highest possible level, successful attacks have become less likely.

15,000 soldiers deployed

In fact, France has prepared itself to the maximum against such dangers. In addition to the tens of thousands of police officers who have been called to Paris and the other host cities from all over the country, the army has set up a camp for 4,500 soldiers in the capital. The armed forces will mobilize a total of 15,000 soldiers for the entire duration of the games.

There will also be a limited number of security forces from other countries, some of whom will be travelling to protect their own athletes. Police vehicles from Qatar and officers from the Arab country who patrolled the metro with their French colleagues have already caused a stir in Paris.

Hundreds of special forces of the French Air Force are also monitoring the airspace from several bases, one of whose tasks is to neutralize any drones that may be approaching sensitive areas.

AI-based video technology monitors crowds of visitors

In order to monitor the movements of millions of visitors, video surveillance based on artificial intelligence will also be used on a limited scale in Paris. The evaluation of camera images using intelligent, algorithm-based technology should make it possible to detect the intrusion of people into non-public or sensitive areas, as well as the movements of crowds in risk areas, an unusually large gathering of people and also unclaimed luggage. There will be no facial recognition via the cameras.

In addition to specific acts of violence, France’s security authorities are also preparing for hacking and cyber attacks during the games. Security experts warned that there would be massive attempts to scare visitors of terrorism and other dangers, to undermine the reputation of the games and to sabotage their course.

Cyberattacks feared

In its threat analysis for the Paris Games, Recorded Future names Iran and Azerbaijan as state actors of cyberattacks in addition to Russia. The country in the Caucasus has France in its sights because Paris supports Armenia in the conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In connection with the Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict, Recorded Future expects cyberattacks on the Olympic Games because activists want to take advantage of the international attention. Groups with links to the Iranian government are in a position to carry out hacker attacks with more serious consequences.

Two years ago, France’s cybersecurity authority began developing a strategy to defend against such attacks. In addition to protecting actors and systems and prevention, the strategy also includes the ability to respond to specific attacks during the games, the government in Paris said.