PARIS: The Paris Olympics' high-flying ambition made them risky and difficult to police, but French security forces kept thousands of athletes and millions of fans safe in a “gold medal” performance, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
The two-week sporting spectacle that ended on Sunday prompted a security operation unprecedented in recent French history, with the mobilization of some 75,000 police officers, soldiers and private security guards on the opening night of July 26.
There have been a few incidents in the last two weeks (an attack on French railways, a field invader in the men's 100m final), but nothing that has ruined the event as a whole, much to the relief of the organisers.
“These Olympics mean both great French medals and a great gold medal for the Interior Ministry and the security forces,” Darmanin said last week while visiting serving officers in Marseille, southern France.
The sense of satisfaction and self-congratulatory tone of his remarks reflected the enormous pressure and doubts raised in the run-up to the Games about whether France's already limited resources would be up to the task.
Their first test was to secure the Olympic torch relay, a journey through 450 French cities and overseas territories.
Then came the unexpected parliamentary elections in July, followed by the unprecedented opening ceremony along a six-kilometer stretch of the Seine, which had given planners sleepless nights since its inauguration in 2021.
Police officers guard the Seine River before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, July 26, 2024 in Paris. (AP)
In the end, the 300,000 ticketed spectators watching the demonstration from the banks of the river were disturbed by nothing but torrential rain, with the streets of the capital invaded by uniformed officers.
“For those of us who have been on the field here, we’ve seen the security footprint here. It’s impressive,” Nicole Deal, Team USA’s security director, said the day of the ceremony. “I’ve never seen anything like it at any other game.”
Two weeks of competition saw packed stadiums: 743,000 people crowded the sports facilities in a single day, July 30.
Other events, from triathlons to marathons, also took place on the streets of the capital.
Around one million people lined the route of the men's and women's road cycling races on August 3 and 4.
“Without a doubt, the French security services deserve a gold medal,” French criminologist and university professor Alain Bauer, a vocal critic of the format of the open-air opening ceremony, told AFP.
He said it was thanks to “exceptional investment” and “essential changes” that saw organisers significantly reduce the size of the crowd at the opening ceremony under pressure from the Home Office.
After being barred from the Games, French officials say Russia is plotting to destabilize them, with France's cybersecurity agency on high alert for attacks that could compromise the organizing committee, ticketing or transportation.
The arrest of a 40-year-old alleged member of the Russian secret service on the eve of the Games has created tension.
The war in Gaza, threats from the Daesh group and France's history of internal Islamic terrorist plots and far-right extremism have raised fears that an attack could spoil the party.
However, not everyone found the security operation a cause for celebration.
Charities have complained loudly about police crackdowns on homeless people, sex workers and migrants ahead of the Games, while anti-Olympic protest groups say they have been prevented from exercising their democratic rights.
Around 45 activists from the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion were arrested by police the day after the opening ceremony as they prepared to occupy a bridge over the Seine in central Paris.
The “Saccage 2024” group, which has organised so-called “Toxic Tours” highlighting the negative aspects of the Games, said it was prevented from leading a group of about 20 people to sites in northern Paris last week.
About 30 riot police and four police cars prevented the tour and three members of the collective were taken to the local police station for questioning.
“After the arrest, no charges were filed against any of those arrested, further proof that this was in fact an attempt at intimidation,” the group wrote on Instagram.
