PARIS – There is no “Plan B” for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony, France’s sports minister said on Dec 4, after a man armed with a knife and hammer killed a German tourist and left two people wounded near the Eiffel Tower two days earlier.
“We have no Plan B, we have a plan in which there are several sub-plans with a certain number of variables,” Ms Amelie Oudea-Castera told France Inter radio.
The suspect, 26, a French national arrested after the attack, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video recorded beforehand, anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said on Dec 3. The attack occurred on the Quai de Grenelle – a spot included in the opening ceremony plans.
Asked if the government was mulling a change to its plan to hold the ceremony on the River Seine, with several hundred thousand spectators expected along its banks amid the security threats, the minister added: “This is not something we’re working with.”
“We have the capacity to secure the event,” she insisted, noting details, including the number of additional cultural events surrounding the main spectacle, and the security perimeter would be adjusted closer to the Games.
France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a Chechen-origin man with a knife killed a teacher in a school in northern France.
European security officials have warned of a growing risk of attacks by Islamist militants amid the Israel-Hamas war, with the biggest threat likely from “lone wolf” assailants who are hard to track.
Some 160 boats will set off on July 26 from the Pont d’Austerlitz for a 6km journey to the Pont d’Iena in an event organising committee head Tony Estanguet described as “unique and spectacular”.
Around 30,000 police officers and soldiers will be mobilised to secure the surroundings.
“For the opening ceremony, there is a specific protocol with the state and the Paris City Hall. We’re confident that we’re on track to reach our goals,” Paris 2024 security director Bruno le Ray had said regarding the threat of terrorism.
However, questions have also been asked. Brittany Jacobs, sport management department chair at American Public University System, said: “The opening ceremony is the biggest event from a security perspective we’ve seen in a long time in Europe.
“There will always be something that goes wrong but the question is are you ready for it? There are concerns about drones, terrorist groups, something inevitably will go wrong whenever you have an event like this in open space.” REUTERS, AFP
