Paris 2024 Games a ‘considerable challenge’ for bomb disposal squad

PARIS – The Paris police bomb disposal team are expecting the Olympics to present them with a “considerable challenge” in 2024.

They have been working with Games organisers to define the right level of bomb-clearing intervention during the Olympics and Paralympics in the French capital next summer, the director of the central police laboratory said on Dec 4.

“The Olympic Games are an absolutely considerable challenge,” Christophe Pezron said of the July 26-Aug 11 event.

“As far as bomb-disposal practice is concerned... We carried out an inspection, a kind of rehearsal, at the Stade de France during the Rugby World Cup. So the first stage is these inspections of all the Olympic Games sites (before they are handed over to organisers).

“And the second activity, which will be carried out in parallel, is that we imagine that, given the population that will be moving around during the Games, we’re likely to be faced with an increase in the number of abandoned parcels and suspicious packages.

“So, from that point on, we’ll certainly be seeing a great deal of intervention activity.”

On Dec 4, members of the bomb disposal squad were alerted at the Montparnasse train station to abandoned luggage, which the team successfully neutralised.

Another bag, which was found to belong to a school pupil, was also disarmed later in the day.

Bomb alerts in tourist attractions such as the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles have also increased in the wake of the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct 7.

France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a man with a knife killed a teacher in a school. Last week, one person died and two others were injured after another man attacked tourists near the Eiffel Tower. The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle – a spot also included in the plans for the opening ceremony.

Asked if the government was mulling a change to its plan to hold the ceremony on the River Seine amid security threats, with several hundred thousand spectators expected along its banks, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said there was no “Plan B”.

“We’ve been preparing for the Olympic Games for over 18 months now,” Pezron added.

“For 18 months now, we’ve been in constant dialogue with Paris 2024, with our authorities, to define the right level of bomb-disposal intervention. So, any particular fears or stress? No. On the other hand, we’re working more and more to ensure that our organisation is as efficient as possible.”

Apart from security issues, Paris’ metro and suburban train systems are suffering a “worrying new deterioration”, the region’s transport authority said on Dec 5.

Only four of the capital’s 16 metro lines showed “satisfactory” results for regular service, said Valerie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, and chief of the IDFM regional transport authority.

Meanwhile, three of the five RER suburban rail lines operated by national rail company SNCF were “problematic”. “All of the lines have to get back to their contractual punctuality objectives as soon as possible,” Pecresse insisted.

But the International Olympic Committee said things were heading in the right direction, adding that it is “normal” that there is still work to be done. REUTERS, AFP