With AI, planes and police squadrons, Paris secures the Olympics and worries critics

PARIS — A year ago, the head of the Paris Olympic Games boldly declared that the capital of France would be ” the safest place in the world “when the Games open this Friday. Tony Estanguet’s confident predictions seem less far-fetched now that police squadrons are patrolling the streets of Paris, fighter jets and soldiers are ready to swoop in, and impose metal safety barriers erected like an iron curtain on either side of the Seine which will be the star of the opening show.

The massive police and military operation by France is largely due to the fact that the July 26-August 11 Games face unprecedented security challenges. The city has suffered several deadly attacks extremist attacks and international tensions are high due to wars in Ukraine And Gaza.

Rather than building an Olympic park with venues grouped outside the city centre, as in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 or London in 2012, Paris has chosen to host a large part of the events in the heart of the bustling capital of 2 million inhabitants, with others scattered in suburbs that are home to millions more. The installation of temporary sports arenas in public spaces and the unprecedented choice of hosting sporting events a river opening ceremony extending for kilometers (miles) along the Seine, makes their protection more complex.

The Olympic organizers also Concerns about cyber attackswhile human rights advocates and critics of the Games are concerned about Paris’ use of AI-powered surveillance technology and the scale and scope of Olympic security.

In short, Paris has a lot to offer to ensure the safety of its 10,500 athletes and millions of visitors. Here’s how it plans to do it.

A police and gendarmerie force of 45,000 police officers and gendarmes is also supported by a contingent of 10,000 soldiers which has been put in place. the largest military camp in Paris since World War II, from where soldiers should be able to reach any of the city’s Olympic sites within 30 minutes.

Armed military patrols in vehicles and on foot have become commonplace in crowded areas in France since gunmen and suicide bombers acting on behalf of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group hit Paris several times in 2015They do not have police powers to arrest attackers but can stop and restrain them until the police arrive. For visitors from countries where armed patrols are not the norm on the streets, the sight of soldiers armed with assault rifles can be shocking, just as it was initially for the French.

“At first, it was very strange for them to see us and they always avoided our presence, made a detour,” said General Eric Chasboeuf, deputy commander of the anti-terrorist military force, called Sentinelle.

“Now it’s in the landscape,” he said.

Rafale fighter jets, airspace surveillance AWACS surveillance flights, Reaper surveillance drones, helicopters capable of carrying snipers and drone-disabling equipment will monitor the skies over Paris, which will be closed off during the opening ceremony by a 150-kilometre no-fly zone around the capital. Cameras coupled with artificial intelligence software – authorised by a law that extends state surveillance powers for the Games – will flag potential security risks, such as abandoned packages or stolen items. the crowd goes wild,

France also receives help from more than 40 countries, which together sent at least 1,900 police reinforcements.

Attacks by lone individuals are a major concern, a risk that French officials have only recently become aware of. the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Some members of the Olympic security operation were stunned to see the man armed with an AR-style rifle come within range of the former US president.

“No one can guarantee that there will be no mistakes. Here, however, they were blatant,” said General Philippe Pourqué, who oversaw the construction of a temporary camp in the southeast of Paris to accommodate 4,500 soldiers of the Sentinelle force.

In France, in the last 13 months alone, men acting alone have carried out knife attacks targeting tourists in ParisAnd children in a park in an alpine town, among others. A man who stabbed a teacher He died in October in his former high school in the north of France, having been under surveillance by French security services on suspicion of Islamist radicalisation.

With a long and bitter history of deadly extremist attacks, France has built a dense network of police units, intelligence services and investigators specializing in the fight against terrorism, and suspects in terrorism cases can be held for longer periods for questioning.

Hundreds of thousands of background check Authorities have been checking Olympic ticket holders, workers and others involved in the Games, as well as applicants for permits to enter Paris’s most tightly controlled security zone along the banks of the Seine River. The checks have prevented more than 3,900 people from entering the area, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. He said some people were flagged for suspected Islamic radicalization, left-wing or right-wing political extremism, significant criminal records and other security concerns.

“We are particularly attentive to Russian and Belarusian citizens,” Darmanin added, without, however, linking the exclusions to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Belarus’ role as an ally of Moscow.

Mr Darmanin said 155 people considered “very dangerous” potential terrorist threats are also being kept away from the opening ceremony and the Games, with police searching their homes for weapons and computers in some cases.

He said intelligence services had not identified any proven terrorist plot against the Games “but we are extremely attentive.”

Digital rights activists fear that Olympic surveillance cameras and AI systems could infringe on privacy and other freedoms, and target homeless people who spend a lot of time in public spaces.

Saccage 2024, a group that has campaigned for months against the Paris Games, took aim at the extent of Olympic security, describing it as a “repressive arsenal” in a statement to The Associated Press.

“And this is not a French exception, far from it, but a systematic phenomenon in host countries,” he believes. “Is it reasonable to offer a month of “festivities” to the most affluent tourists at the cost of a legacy of long-term security for all the inhabitants of the city and the country?”