Paris Olympics hosts 10,500 athletes—ringed by 77,000 security personnel
livemint.comPARIS—France is transforming its capital city into an open-air fortress, rolling out the largest peacetime security operation in the country’s history to protect athletes, residents and more than 10 million visitors during the Olympic Games. Officials say as many as 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers and 22,000 private security guards will keep watch at the Paris Olympics, which begins Wednesday and spans the heart of the city—on streets, at landmarks and in the waters of the Seine River. Place de la Concorde, the city’s largest public square, is set up for BMX bike races, skateboarding and breakdancing, a French addition to the Games.
Sand-covered beach volleyball courts are going up in front of the Eiffel Tower. Archers will loose arrows on the grassy esplanade by the Invalides, a 17th-century military complex that houses Napoleon’s tomb. France’s plan to conduct the Games at locales around the city is intended to demonstrate that Western democracies, for all their tumult, can host a monumental event that is accessible to the public.
The security challenge is as immense as the scale of the quadrennial contest that is expected to draw around 10,500 athletes from more than 190 nations, along with 100 or so world leaders. Authorities are preparing for potential attacks by Islamist militants, as well as state-sponsored sabotage originating in Russia or Iran, French officials said. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza have magnified those threats, according to Western officials and security experts.
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