Ouagadougou: French authorities fear possible attempted terrorist attacks, particularly from radical Islamists, during the Summer Olympics, said Laurent Nunez, Paris police prefect .
‘We are obviously concerned about the terrorist threat and in particular Islamist terrorism. […] There is still no clear threat against the Games and our country but I would still like to remind you that at the end of May, two individuals were arrested in Saint-Étienne and were fomenting a project directly directed against Olympic Games.
This is a major point of attention,’ he indicated during a press conference broadcast by the prefecture’s press service. ‘The terrorist threat remains a significant threat in the same way as the protest threat from small radical groups defending the environment, the ultra-left or the pro-Palestinian movement. »
At the same time, Laurent Nunez recalled the existence of security plans for the Olympic Games, in particular for the means of combating drones, as well as action plans in the event of
nuclear, bacteriological and chemical threats. To ensure the security of public places, it is planned to apply algorithmic video surveillance which is based on the operation of artificial intelligence.
This surveillance consists of coupling cameras with software whose algorithms are supposed to be able to detect predefined events in the middle of a continuous stream of images. In addition to the police and gendarmerie, the French armies plan to provide 10,000 soldiers to ensure security.
The Paris Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11. The opening ceremony is to take place on the Seine. In the context of a high risk of possible threats during the inauguration, which will take place along the banks of the Seine and on the Place du Trocadéro, it was decided to reduce the number of spectators from 600,000 initially to 326,000 and to introduce special QR codes to circulate around the Olympic sites and the banks of the Seine.
Source: Burkina Information Agency