French soldiers and police are being stationed both in and along the River Seine to push it safe during the grandiose commencement ceremony of the Paris Olympics when thousands of athletes will sail down the river in the evening toward the Eiffel Tower. The unusual decision to use a 6-kilometre (3.7-mile) distance of the Seine as a spectacular setting for the July 26 ceremony in front of a 320,000-strong crowd has formed a huge challenge for security services, which will require to ensure the security of Olympians and spectators alike.
French authorities expressed that 45,000 police officers and gendarmes are being positioned for the occasion, as well as 10,000 soldiers of the so-called Sentinelle military operation. A specially-created battalion has been assigned to secure the embarkation zone for athletes located along Paris’ eastern part of the river. The battalion’s mission includes the complete protection of the area, the ships and the attendees, in compact coordination with other security forces.
“This mission is complex and distinctive,” Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier, chief of operations of the battalion, stated Wednesday. “It’s complex because we’re in an atmosphere — the Parisian environment, the Seine — which is an urban background… with obvious vulnerabilities. The Seine is an area where there are a lot of activities.”Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assassination endeavour Saturday further increased awareness about the highly discreet mission. Paris has been the target of fatal terror attacks in the past decade, and the Seine flows through the core of the city, covered by office and apartment buildings and utilised every day by barges and other ships.
“We were already on a very high level of protection. So the attack on Donald Trump only reinforces our vigilance,” Lieutenant Colonel Olivier stated. Military officers requested to be recognised by their first names only for reasons of security. Specialized teams have been mobilized for the operation that affects the deployment of high-tech technology such as drones and sonars, as well as action divers, vessel intervention groups, patrols along the Seine and military dogs. Water barriers going from the riverbed to the exterior have been installed to control any intrusions into the protected area.
In addition, the battalion is operating counter-drone systems and operates in close coordination with the French Air Force, which connects the Paris skies, Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier stated.
The military “is ready to answer to any type of threat” that may be underwater, on water, on land or in the air, Captain Quentin, who is overseeing a company of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion, stated. Troops aboard rapid boats “can interfere at very short notice, to any type of threat, to cross the Seine in a subject of minutes and rapidly deploy for deterrence or to bring action on-site,” he said.
A special anti-terrorism frame for the opening ceremony will start being enforced on Thursday. Protected areas along the Seine have a unique legal status, pushing them off-limits to the unauthorized public. Staff Sergeant Sofiane, from the 132nd Canine Infantry Regiment, stated his 3-year-old dog, Stimo, is trained to notice intruders and would alert him by barking.
In case of an attack, the staff sergeant could summon Stimo to attack and neutralize an intruder, either shooting the person with a very rigid muzzle or shooting without the muzzle. With France shortly to be in the world’s limelight, the Olympics security assignment is a unique experience for the soldiers, and even a possibility for some to discover Paris. “They have the sense that they are there for something special,” Captain Quentin stated. “And they’re all the more vigilant and ready for the occasion.”
