PARIS (AP) — Particular anti-terrorism measures being put in place to safeguard the unprecedented opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the River Seine will even apply to all buildings alongside the route, that means individuals who work and dwell there and their visitors can be subjected to background safety checks, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez stated Thursday.
These affected can be cross-checked towards safety companies’ databases, to see whether or not they have beforehand been flagged as suspected Islamist extremists or for different radicalism, Nunez stated.
The wildly bold July 26 ceremony is proving to be a gargantuan safety problem. Athletes can be paraded by means of the center of the French capital on 94 boats alongside a 6-kilometer (almost 4-mile) stretch of the Seine, from east to west. They’re going to be accompanied by 87 different boats for safety, media and different individuals.
The entire parade route can be inside a high-security zone that Nunez described as an “anti-terrorism perimeter.” He stated it’ll embrace the primary row of buildings alongside the route.
“We wished to incorporate within the perimeter all the buildings which have a view on the parade,” Nunez stated.
The zone can be put in place from July 18 and be prolonged even additional alongside each banks of the river on July 26, within the remaining hours earlier than the night ceremony.
Anybody who desires to enter the zone within the eight days earlier than the ceremony and on July 26 itself might want to pre-register on-line and can “systematically” be subjected to the background safety checks identified in France as an “administrative investigation,” Nunez stated.
These affected will embrace individuals who work and dwell contained in the perimeter, in addition to their visitors, and folks going to lodges or eating places contained in the zone, he stated.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo stated about 20,000 individuals dwell and work contained in the perimeter. Within the days earlier than the ceremony, there can be locations to cross the river and methods to go to the Louvre and different museums alongside the river with out having to enter the safety zone.
Nunez stated the safety test for these affected will not embrace looking by means of their communications. “It’s not as intrusive as that,” he stated.
“We confirm if the individual is understood in a sure variety of intelligence information,” he stated.
Anybody flagged by the checks could possibly be barred from the zone. “It should clearly be case by case,” Nunez stated.
Ticket-holders for the ceremony will not must pre-register on the web platform that may open Could 10. However Nunez stated French intelligence companies can do checks on them, too.
Individually, the highest administrative official for the Paris area, Prefect Marc Guillaume, pledged that checks on the water high quality within the Seine can be made public, with out specifying when or how usually.
Marathon swimmers and Olympic and Paralympic triathletes are scheduled to race within the river, which is being cleaned up for the Video games. From July 1, samples can be collected from 36 spots on the river and its tributary, the Marne, Guillaume stated.
“We can be completely clear about our outcomes,” he stated.
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AP Olympics protection: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games