PARIS: The vaulting ambitions of the Paris Olympics made them risky and difficult to police, but French security forces kept thousands of athletes and millions of fans safe – a “gold medal” performance according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The two-week sporting extravaganza, which ended on Sunday, led to a security operation unlike any other in recent French history, with the deployment of some 75,000 police, soldiers and private security guards on the opening night of July 26.
There had been incidents over the last fortnight – an attack on a French railway, a pitch invader in the 100m men's final – but nothing that affected the overall event, much to the organizers' relief.
“These Olympic Games include the best French medals and a big gold medal for the interior ministry and the security forces,” Darmanin said last week when he met officials on duty in Marseille, southern France.
The sense of complacency and self-congratulatory tone of his remarks reflected the great pressure and doubts that had arisen in the run-up to the Games as to whether France's already stretched resources could be made to work.
Their first test was to secure the Olympic torch relay, traveling through 450 French towns and cities as well as foreign territories.
Then came an unexpected parliamentary election in July, followed by an unprecedented opening ceremony for a six-kilometer (four-mile) stretch of the Seine River that had been giving planners sleepless nights since its unveiling in 2021.
Police officers stand guard on the River Seine before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 26, 2024 in Paris. (AP)
In the end, as 300,000 ticketed spectators watched from the riverbank in nothing but torrential rain, the streets of the capital were lined with uniformed officers.
“For those of us who have been here on the ground, we've seen the security footprint here. It's impressive,” Nicole Deal, head of security for Team USA, said on the day of the ceremony. “I've never seen (one) like it in any other sport.”
The two-week competition saw packed stadiums, with 743,000 people attending the sports venues on a single day on 30 July.
Other events ranging from triathlons to marathons were held on the streets of the capital.
About one million people lined the course for the men's and women's cycling road races on August 3-4.
“Without a doubt, the French security services deserve the gold medal,” French criminologist and university professor Alain Bauer, a vocal critic of the open-air opening ceremony format, told AFP.
He said this was due to “extraordinary investment” and “necessary changes” which saw organizers significantly reduce the size of the opening ceremony crowd under pressure from the Interior Ministry.
After being excluded from the Games, Russia was accused by French officials of plotting to destabilize them, with France's cyber-security agency on high alert for attacks that could disrupt the organizing committee, tickets or transport.
The arrest of a 40-year-old suspected member of the Russian secret service on the eve of the match raised nerves.
The war in Gaza, threats from the Daesh group, and France's history of home-grown Islamist terror plots and far-right extremism have also fueled fears about the possibility of an attack that would devastate the party.
Not everyone has found the security operation to be celebrated, however.
Charities complained loudly about police repression of the homeless, sex workers and migrants ahead of the Games, while anti-Olympic protest groups say they are being prevented from exercising their democratic rights.
About 45 activists from the Extinction Rebellion climate change protest group were arrested by police as they prepared to occupy a bridge over the Seine River in central Paris the day after the opening ceremony.
The “Sackage 2024” group, which has been highlighting the downsides of the so-called “toxic tours” sport, said last week it had stopped guiding a group of about 20 people to sites in northern Paris.
About 30 riot police and four police cars stopped the tour and three members of the group were taken to a local police station for questioning.
“At the end of police custody no charges were brought against any of the arrested individuals, further evidence that this was in fact an attempt at intimidation,” the group wrote on Instagram.
