The security officers were hailed by France’s interior minister on Friday, the day the Olympics opened without any big incidents being recorded.
To ensure the safety of the event, authorities in Paris had launched a large security operation. The capital’s streets were closed off, and on both banks of the Seine River, massive security barriers made of metal fences were built like an iron curtain, with police squadrons on patrol. For Olympic security, up to 10,000 military personnel and 45,000 police and gendarmes have been sent in.
The opening ceremony was without any serious issues.
Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister of France, celebrated a “successful event without incident” on the social media site X, saying, “We did it.”
“We have never been more proud of our security forces after four years of intense work to prepare for the biggest sporting event in the world,” he tweeted.
The tweet “plan A” by Paris police included a video of river police observing the glittering Eiffel Tower. This was a reference to remarks made earlier by French President Emmanuel Macron, who acknowledged that plans would need to be revised for security concerns.
A massive anti-terrorism cordon around the river’s banks blocked off a kilometer-long (mile-long) region to anybody without a ceremonial ticket, and all of Paris’ bridges were closed to traffic and people.
French railways are tampered with
On Friday, widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism, such as arson assaults, impacted France’s high-speed train system. For hundreds of thousands of people, including Olympic competitors en route to the opening ceremony, the actions caused delays or outright stopped their transit to Paris from other parts of France and Europe.
Three fires were recorded close to the rails on the Atlantique, Nord, and Est high-speed lines. The assaults were denounced by French authorities as “criminal actions.”
Prosecutors launched a nationwide investigation into the offenses, which include property damage endangering the country’s “fundamental interests” and are punishable by terms ranging from 10 to 20 years.
Soccer hero from Brazil robbed
Prosecutors in Paris said on Friday that they had launched an inquiry into a robbery that was reported by Brazilian soccer star Zico.
According to prosecutors’ statement, Zico, a member of the Brazilian team attending the Olympics, said that “a bag containing valuables had been stolen from his vehicle, which had a window open, in the 19th district of Paris.”
thwarting attempts to undermine the Olympics
Days before the Games officially begin, French officials arrested a Russian man and thwarted several attempts to sabotage the 2024 Olympics.
As the last stages of preparations for hosting the Olympics approach, France has been on high alert for the past several weeks.
Due to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, there have been several violent extremist assaults in the city, and there is a high level of international tension.
This Monday, French authorities said that they had taken a 40-year-old Russian man into custody at his residence in Paris on charges of attempting to “destabilize the Olympic Games.”
Suspects’ exclusion from the Games
Approximately one thousand persons who may have been spies for a foreign country have been denied entry to the Olympics, according to France’s interior minister.
Prior to the opening ceremony, over a million background checks were conducted on Olympic volunteers, employees, and other participants, as well as those requesting permission to access the most strictly regulated security area in Paris, which is located along the banks of the Seine.
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