Media: France reduced number of spectators at 2024 Olympics opening amid security concerns
The decision to reduce the number of spectators at the 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris was made at French President Emmanuel Macron’s request amid fears of possible attacks from Islamist terrorist groups, TASS reports with reference to Politico, which cites an unnamed senior official at the French Interior Ministry
The French President is reported to be wary of crowd control and security issues as the opening ceremony takes place for the first time in an open space on the banks of the Seine, outside the main athletics stadium.
Politico’s interlocutor indicated that French intelligence services had not currently identified plans for terror attacks specifically targeting the Games, but added, ‘the main threat is Islamist terrorism’. The French Interior Ministry believes that a number of terrorist groups operating outside France consider the country as a possible target for a future attack, but they do not have the financial capacity to act, the official said, listing al Qaeda and ISIS as examples.
On March 5th, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that about 326 thousand people would be able to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on the Seine embankment. As Politico notes, this is almost half the originally planned number of spectators: in October 2022, the minister spoke about the possibility of 600 thousand people attending the event.
The Paris Olympics are to take place from July 26th to August 11th.
