Over 100 heads of state are expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26. A senior official announced on Wednesday (local time) that 45,000 police officers will be on hand to provide security, stressing that no modifications were made in response to the attack on Donald Trump over the weekend.
According to the official, Lambis Konstantinidis, the ceremony—which is being held outside of a stadium for the first time—will feature some 80 boats transporting international athletes along a six-kilometer stretch of the Seine River toward the Eiffel Tower.
Some of the most beautiful sites in the French city will be sailed by athletes and performers. However, with over 300,000 spectators anticipated, it also poses a significant security risk, particularly given the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Ukraine.
With a six-kilometer path, there’s a lot of ground to cover for surveillance. According to Konstantinidis, chief of planning and coordination for the Games, “that’s why we need that many (security) people.”
“We regularly update our security plans. While giving a tour of the Games’ security headquarters, he remarked, “They always take into consideration the latest events and try to adapt.” He also mentioned that they were in close communication with peers worldwide.
The assassination attempt on former US President Trump last Saturday at a Pennsylvanian election rally, according to Konstantinidis, has not altered the Games’ security arrangements.
“The secret service and other U.S. security agencies work closely with us. Thus, we are also disclosing any information we may have,” Konstantinidis remarked.
Although we’re quite sure we’re on the same page, that really terrible situation hasn’t forced us to alter any of our plans.”
He claimed that at the security headquarters of the Games in Saint-Denis, just outside of Paris, more than a hundred employees will be working nonstop.
Earlier this year, the French government raised the security alert to the highest level due to domestic security concerns and an international conflict.
In May, a man was taken into custody in the French town of Saint-Etienne on suspicion of organizing an attack against the city’s Olympic soccer stadium in the name of the Islamic State.