04/25/24 02:32:00
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04/25 14:30 CDT Massive policing for Paris Olympics to include security checks
for some of the capital's residents
Massive policing for Paris Olympics to include security checks for some of the
capital's residents
By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) --- Special anti-terrorism measures being put in place to safeguard
the unprecedented opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the River Seine
will also apply to all buildings along the route, meaning people who work and
live there and their guests will be subjected to background security checks,
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said Thursday.
Those affected will be cross-checked against security services' databases, to
see whether they have previously been flagged as suspected Islamist extremists
or for other radicalism, Nunez said.
The wildly ambitious July 26 ceremony is proving to be a gargantuan security
challenge. Athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on
94 boats along a 6-kilometer (nearly 4-mile) stretch of the Seine, from east to
west. They'll be accompanied by 87 other boats for security, media and other
people.
All of the parade route will be inside a high-security zone that Nunez
described as an "anti-terrorism perimeter." He said it will include the first
row of buildings along the route.
"We wanted to include in the perimeter all of the buildings that have a view on
the parade," Nunez said.
The zone will be put in place from July 18 and be extended even further along
both banks of the river on July 26, in the final hours before the evening
ceremony.
Anyone who wants to enter the zone in the eight days before the ceremony and on
July 26 itself will need to pre-register online and will "systematically" be
subjected to the background security checks known in France as an
"administrative investigation," Nunez said.
Those affected will include people who work and live inside the perimeter, as
well as their guests, and people going to hotels or restaurants inside the
zone, he said.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said about 20,000 people live and work inside the
perimeter. In the days before the ceremony, there will be places to cross the
river and ways to visit the Louvre and other museums along the river without
having to enter the security zone.
Nunez said the security check for those affected won't include searching
through their communications. "It's not as intrusive as that," he said.
"We verify if the person is known in a certain number of intelligence files,"
he said.
Anyone flagged by the checks could be barred from the zone. "It will obviously
be case by case," Nunez said.
Ticket-holders for the ceremony won't need to pre-register on the online
platform that will open May 10. But Nunez said French intelligence services can
do checks on them, too.
Separately, the top administrative official for the Paris region, Prefect Marc
Guillaume, pledged that tests on the water quality in the Seine will be made
public, without specifying when or how regularly.
Marathon swimmers and Olympic and Paralympic triathletes are scheduled to race
in the river, which is being cleaned up for the Games. From July 1, samples
will be collected from 36 spots on the river and its tributary, the Marne,
Guillaume said.
"We will be totally transparent about our results," he said.
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AP Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
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