Olympic Dreams Bring Security Nightmares to Paris

Security guards patrol at sunrise by the Olympic rings installed on the Esplanade du Trocadero near the Eiffel tower.(Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Posted: May 24th, 2024

By Monique El-Faizy

Monique El-Faizy is a Paris-based journalist.

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — The Olympic torch has landed in France, and begun its 69-day journey to Paris. It’s a milestone for the 33rd Olympiad, filled with reminders at every stop – from the French Riviera to the beaches at Normandy to the French capital – that these Olympics will come with an unprecedented threat of terrorism.

Two months before the opening ceremony, France is already on its highest level of alert, thanks to a resurgent Islamic State, a war in Gaza that many terrorism experts believe has inspired jihadists, and the Paris organizers’ ambitious plans to present an open face to the public. On July 26, rather than the traditional march of athletes into an Olympic Stadium, the games will begin with a nearly four-mile procession along the Seine River, with athletes entering Paris on boats, hundreds of thousands of spectators watching from special viewing stands, and Parisians and their guests looking on from their windows.

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