The Shooter, Divers, AI Secures The Opening Ceremony Of The Paris Olympics

PHOTO via Instagram @olympics

JAKARTA - France's security forces will be on the water, on the roof of the house and operate an AI (artificial intelligence) camera to secure the Paris city center during the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday (26/7) with the aim of preventing unwanted incidents.

The measures only tell of part of the great efforts taken to protect river parades along the SEEne River, which is the first time the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics has been held outside the stadium.

Approximately 45,000 police and paramilitary officers will be on duty, along with 10,000 soldiers and 20,000 private security guards.

The total area that requires security measures is more than six kilometers along the Senine River and will accommodate about 300,000 spectators who have tickets, as well as hundreds of thousands of residents and other tourists in buildings facing the river.

The 150-kilometer-wide no-fly zone around Paris will be enforced one hour before the ceremony begins at 19.30 local time or Saturday (27/7) at 00.30 WIB, stopping or diverting all flights at one of Europe's busiest airports.

"This opening ceremony is the most extraordinary thing a country can do," said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, as broadcast by AFP.

"As you know, in the context of today's geopoliticals and terrorism, this is a huge challenge."

The number of equipment and special personnel illustrates the difficulty of securing such a high-risk environment -- an open location with heavy water, and hundreds of buildings along the river.

All of this happened when France was in maximum vigilance against terror attacks.

"(Certain) there is no 100 percent security," said former French police chief Frederic Pegenard.

"The bigger, the more difficult it is and the complex of a location, the higher the risk."

Strict security

Police snipers are set to be placed at every high point along the route, scanning potential shooters. Attempts to kill US presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 14th serve as an example of a case to focus more on security.

Naval ships with divers and sonar have scanned water depths to search for explosives or infiltration efforts, while 85 ships participating in parades and other vessels moored along the route have been checked by sniffer dogs and bomb disposal experts.

River traffic will be stopped in both directions, by installing barriers and nets that can be dropped to the bottom of the water channel if needed.

The concept of the RiverSEA for the opening ceremony was initially opposed by some senior security officials and described by French criminologist Alain Bauer as "criminal craze" in 2022.

The initial plan to present up to one million spectators on the riverbank has been reduced.

"The risk has not changed and has become worse because of the war in Ukraine, the situation in Israel and Gaza as well as social, environmental and political tensions in France," said Bauer.

"It's a good idea, but it costs a lot of money and consequences."

Since last week, the city center of Paris has been converted into a fort, with metal barriers covering both banks of the SEEne River. Only residents and people with hotel reservations are allowed into areas with high safety levels.

The French army will be responsible for anti-drone operations, using the country's country's most advanced electronic warfare technology.

"Drones are now a real risk and that's why action is being taken," said former head of RAID police command unit Jean-Michel Fauvergue.

The drone operated by security forces will also be the main tool for monitoring suspicious activity, while the AI-enhanced camera -- a new technology that is being implemented controversially in France for the first time -- will scan the crowd.

Tensions

France has often been the target of Islamic terror groups over the past decade, with attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine, the Bataclan concert building, and the national stadium, which will be used for athletics during the Olympics.

A branch of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, according to President Emmanuel Macron, planned an attack on France in March, and social media accounts affiliated with ISIS have routinely issued threats.

The French Interior Minister said four suspects believed to be planning an attack on the Olympics had been arrested.

The international context, particularly the war in Gaza, has increased tensions.

"If you look at the history of Islamic terror attacks, you see that every time there is tension, foreign war, then there are consequences in our country," said Pechenard, the former police chief.

Fauvergue said France's troops were reliable, for example, the Euro 2016 football tournament, organized by France, when Europe faced a series of suicide bombings.

"The threat is high but the Euros are maintained and we have not received an attack," Fauvergue said.