GAMES WIDE OPEN," BILLBOARDS, POSTERS and officials across Paris proudly declare, as the city gears up to host this month's Olympics. The Games' website promises a sporting celebration "more responsible, more inclusive, more equal and more spectacular than ever before." But the warmth of this installment of the quadrennial carnival will be ringed with steel.
France's security services are embarking on an enormous operation to try and prevent disaster, while their U.S. counterparts have reportedly spent years preparing to protect American athletes competing in Paris.
To guard the Games, some 30,000 police officers-most armed with at least handguns-will be deployed every day, with 45,000 to guard the opening ceremony on the Seine River. Another 25,000 private security guards will also be working daily.
Behind them, some 18,000 soldiers-well used to operating in French cities given the country's recent struggles with Islamist terrorism-will support the operation. Among them will be members of the famed Foreign Legion.
"Since the end of the Second World War, there has never been such a massive mobilization of military forces on French soil," General Christophe Abadwho leads military operations in Paris-declared.
France's Interior Ministry has undertaken a huge vetting program of around one million people slated for involvement, from the army of volunteers to the Olympic flame bearers and private security officers. More than 1,000 have already been excluded over security concerns. Meanwhile, French lawmakers have been pushing a massive expansion of its surveillance powers to handle the millions of people expected to flood into Paris for the Games. Among the plans are an increase in the use of AI-powered facial recognition CCTV, proposals that have prompted concerns among privacy campaigners.
Denne historien er fra August 02 - 09, 2024 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
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Denne historien er fra August 02 - 09, 2024 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Falling for Romance
A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters
Cracking the Norse Code
Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans
Monumental Shift
The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout'
Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance
HARSH HEADWINDS
President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH
Bridget Everett
BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.
Amber Ruffin
A LATE-NIGHT COMEDY SHOW ON CNN? YES, and it's a game show, too.
