{"id":36780,"date":"2024-04-27T09:23:17","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T09:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/27\/a-city-scarred-by-terrorism-prepares-an-olympic-opening-without-walls\/"},"modified":"2024-04-27T09:23:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T09:23:17","slug":"a-city-scarred-by-terrorism-prepares-an-olympic-opening-without-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/27\/a-city-scarred-by-terrorism-prepares-an-olympic-opening-without-walls\/","title":{"rendered":"A City Scarred by Terrorism Prepares an Olympic Opening Without Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/27\/multimedia\/27olympics-security-01-bhjg\/27olympics-security-01-bhjg-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"A City Scarred by Terrorism Prepares an Olympic Opening Without Walls\" title=\"A City Scarred by Terrorism Prepares an Olympic Opening Without Walls\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A terrorist attack of 2015 that left her city angry and heartbroken persuaded Paris\u2019s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, to campaign for the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI said to myself, \u2018We need to do something that is unifying,\u2019\u201d she said in an interview this month, remembering the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/01\/08\/world\/europe\/charlie-hebdo-paris-shooting.html\" title=\"\">horrifying afternoon<\/a> when masked gunmen charged into the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and opened fire that January, killing 12. \u201cSomething that is very powerful, very peaceful and allows us to move forward. So, I threw myself into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nine years later, the Summer Olympics are set to open in Paris in July with France at its highest level of terrorism alert, after the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/26\/business\/media\/moscow-attack-narratives.html\" title=\"\">attack on the Moscow concert hall last month<\/a>. Yet for the first time, the opening ceremony will not be held inside the barricaded confines of a stadium. Instead, athletes will float in boats down the Seine River through the heart of the dense, ancient city before half a million spectators packed into stands and leaning out of windows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although some say that makes the ceremony an obvious target, Ms. Hidalgo and other government officials express full confidence in their safety plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe best response is to do it, but to do it seriously and professionally,\u201d the mayor said, adding, \u201cIf we don\u2019t do it because we\u2019re afraid, than they\u2019ve won. And they didn\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many security experts have also said they have faith in the preparations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cParis will be bunkerized under the current plan for the opening ceremony,\u201d said Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric P\u00e9chenard, the former head of France\u2019s national police. \u201cThe French police have spared no expense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Officials brewed up the idea for the ceremony to produce a spectacle that was completely new, was open to many and would \u201cshow France under its best light,\u201d President Emmanuel Macron said in a recent television interview. The goal, he said, was \u201cto show that we can do extraordinary things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even so, the security challenges are obvious and myriad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The procession will cover 3.7 miles of the river, passing hundreds of historic buildings of different eras, shapes and sizes, including the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. There are more than 100 access points, uneven roofs and incongruent windows, and a labyrinth of pipes, tunnels and sewers underneath. Then there is the river, with its own swells, eddies, connections and traffic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt will require a very long, very complex security operation that won\u2019t eliminate all the risks,\u201d said Bertrand Cavallier, a former commander at France\u2019s national military police training school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since the 2015 deadly Islamist attacks, France has become sadly accustomed to terrorist threats and to soldiers patrolling its crowded squares and train stations, their fingers resting near the triggers of machine guns. The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/02\/world\/europe\/paris-knife-attack.html\" title=\"\">latest one was in December<\/a>, killing a tourist and injuring three others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Olympics organizers say the potential for terrorism was stitched into the plan for the Games from the start. Over the months of preparation, in response to security concerns, they have adjusted some of the original plans for the opening ceremony \u2014 for example, by cutting the number of spectators permitted along the river.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They also point to their experience with big events. For example, in 2016, France hosted the European soccer championships, drawing some 600,000 foreign spectators, noted Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris Olympic Committee. Even very public failures, like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/07\/13\/world\/europe\/france-champions-league-final.html\" title=\"\">dangerous crowd control problems<\/a> at the 2022 Champions League soccer final that were blamed on mistakes by the security services, have offered important lessons, officials say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEvery decision that has been made since 2015 was made through the lens of security,\u201d Mr. Estanguet said in an interview. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He added, \u201cFor three years now, we know precisely day by day, site by site, almost hour by hour, our needs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The broad outlines of the plan have been made public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The areas immediately bordering both sides of the river, stretching miles beyond the ceremony\u2019s course, will be marked as a protected zone that will be closed to motorized vehicles eight days before the ceremony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The 20,000 people who live and work there will need to apply for a QR code and be screened, and no one without a QR code will be allowed entry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During that time, the river will be closed to navigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the evening of the ceremony, the airspace over and around Paris for 93 miles will be closed, with all four nearby airports shuttered, including Charles de Gaulle, Europe\u2019s third largest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Paris police will secure the underground sewers and tunnels. Subway stations within the perimeter will be closed, as will businesses and restaurants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Soldiers will check the boats that bring the athletes down the river in the parade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Four helicopters will monitor the sky, with officers trained in tracking and defusing drones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some 45,000 police and military police officers will flood Paris and its suburbs \u2014 about 10 times their typical presence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There will be some 100 diver bomb specialists inspect\u200bing the water\u200b; some 650 officers from specialized anti-terrorist units\u200b; over 700 firefighters specialized in stopping nuclear and chemical attacks\u200b; \u200babout 2,000 private security guards secur\u200bing the areas holding paying spectators\u200b; and 2,500 foreign officers, including some from the United States, many with bomb-detecting dogs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere will be a gendarme or police officer every square meter,\u201d said Ghislain R\u00e9ty, the head of one of the country\u2019s antiterrorism units, which was formed after the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/21\/world\/europe\/germany-1972-munich-olympics-attacks.html\" title=\"\">11 Israeli Olympic athletes were killed<\/a>. \u201cA huge amount of intelligence work has been done. Honestly, I think it will be a beautiful party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Behind him, as he spoke during a security drill, more than 40 members of his team rammed into an abandoned office building in a Paris suburb using a specialized armored vehicle, and then exited from the roof hanging from a helicopter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The security for this year\u2019s Olympics will be far greater than what London had during the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/07\/15\/sports\/olympics\/major-trepidation-over-olympic-security.html\" title=\"\">2012 Games<\/a>. It will also surpass the record numbers of officers who last summer quelled <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/29\/world\/europe\/france-riots-nahel-shooting.html\" title=\"\">riots that broke out around France<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe have never seen anything like this before,\u201d said Guillaume Farde, a security expert who teaches at Sciences Po University in Paris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">France\u2019s security apparatus on average foils one planned attack every other month, G\u00e9rald Darmanin, the interior minister, told <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leparisien.fr\/jo-paris-2024\/jo-paris-2024-ceremonie-douverture-perimetre-fiches-s-gerald-darmanin-expose-le-dispositif-de-securite-08-04-2024-RTJ24QUWLFFB5NLSDIRH6UNZW4.php\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a French newspaper<\/a> this month. He has said that there have been no specific threats against the Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To date, all <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/press.paris2024.org\/news\/generation-2024-paris-2024-the-cnosf-and-the-civic-service-agency-allow-57-young-people-on-civic-service-missions-to-travel-to-33-countries-255f-7578a.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">206 delegations<\/a> \u2014 including a selection of the 10,500 Olympic athletes \u2014 plan to participate in the opening, and all 120 heads of state have indicated that they will be present, said Marc Guillaume, a top government official for the Paris region. He and others considered that a vote of confidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The American Diplomatic Security Service, which oversees the safety of U.S. diplomats at large international events, also expressed satisfaction with the arrangements, according to officials with the service, which sent two members to Paris two years ago to work exclusively on the Games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To address concerns, the authorities have progressively cut the number of spectators who will be allowed to sit in stands along the river and over many of its bridges \u2014 to roughly 300,000 down from 600,000. One-third of those will pay for tickets; the rest are nonpaying spectators who must be invited by government officials or the Olympic Committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Polls suggest that Parisians are divided over the plans for the opening ceremony. Some are concerned, but many have grown used to living with terrorism alerts and see the Games as just another potential target. They complain more about the commuting nightmares and crowds that the Olympics will bring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI don\u2019t want fear to ruin the Games, which are going to a be a crazy time,\u201d said Jeanne Huyge, 23, enjoying a sunny lunch break on a bench with a friend overlooking the Seine on a recent afternoon. \u201cOtherwise,\u201d she added, \u201cyou end up never doing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Two weeks ago, Mr. Macron said that if there were a serious terrorist threat, the government would be prepared to pull the ceremony off the Seine \u2014 and hold it either at Trocad\u00e9ro Square or in the Stade de France, the national stadium.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhen the sports minister said there was no Plan B, I was shocked,\u201d said Mr. P\u00e9chenard, the former head of the national police, referring to an earlier insistence among ministers that the plan would not change. \u201cI was relieved to hear otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, he pointed out, the opening ceremony will be just the first few hours of a 17-day event, followed later by the Paralympic Games \u2014 all to be secured by thousands of police officers and private security guards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere\u2019s not just the opening ceremony to secure,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are all the actual Games afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/27\/world\/europe\/paris-olympics-2024-security-opening-ceremony.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A terrorist attack of 2015 that left her city angry and heartbroken persuaded Paris\u2019s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, to campaign for the Olympic Games. \u201cI said to myself, \u2018We need to do something that is unifying,\u2019\u201d she said in an interview this month, remembering the horrifying afternoon when masked gunmen charged into the offices of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/27\/multimedia\/27olympics-security-01-bhjg\/27olympics-security-01-bhjg-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[122,444,2024,20071,39677,11501,39678],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36780"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36782,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36780\/revisions\/36782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}