France Denies Entry to 5,000 Ahead of Olympics, 1,000 of Them Suspected of Espionage, Ultra-Left Links

2024 Paris Olympics. (Wikimedia Commons/Ibex73)

JAKARTA - The French Interior Ministry has rejected around 5,000 security accreditation requests for Olympic volunteers and workers, with around 1,000 of them blocked due to alleged interference or espionage.

The Paris 2024 Olympics are scheduled to open on Friday, July 26 local time, amid concerns about security over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In a statement Tuesday, the ministry said it had carried out "around one million" administrative investigations into staff for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

From the checks, various threats were identified, including interference and espionage, convicted criminal records, illegal alien status, radical Islam and far-right and far-left ideologies.

"The interference project has been thwarted," the ministry said, as reported by CNN July 25.

"Russia is not the only country that could interfere in France," the ministry added.

A Russian citizen was placed under preliminary investigation on Tuesday in Paris over concerns he was preparing to disrupt the Olympics, the Paris prosecutor's office told CNN.

The statement did not elaborate on what the targets of foreign interference were.

In addition to staff checks, the ministry said it had also checked nearly 20,000 residents living in the security perimeter around the Seine River, where the opening ceremony will take place.

The statement reiterated that this will be the first opening ceremony to take place outside a stadium for a Summer Olympics, creating significant security challenges.

However, the ministry expressed confidence, saying that "it is now ready" after the final dress rehearsal took place on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, speaking on BFM on Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said, "France knows how to organize what no one else in the world knows."

"Once in a century, France knows how to be a time of brotherhood and sport, but also to show that our country is the most beautiful in the world," said Interior Minister Darmanin.