Paris Braces for Most Special Olympic Opening Ceremony
Paris is now fully locked down for the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics, set to gather around 328,000 spectators and numerous world leaders or heads of international organizations this Friday.
The ceremony, featuring a parade of boats along the Seine through the iconic center of Paris, promises originality and spectacle but is also proving to be a security, logistics, and transport nightmare.
"We are ready; it will be a dazzling show that will make the country proud and bring happiness to the whole world," French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra assured on public radio France Info on Thursday.
Around 200 boats, including those carrying about 8,000 athletes and others for security and support, will travel six kilometers between the Austerlitz and Jena bridges.
The final and most important part of the four-hour show will take place at the Jena Bridge, connecting the Eiffel Tower with the Trocadero gardens, where stands have been built for the most important guests.
Security: The Big Challenge
Ensuring security in such a large open space with so many attendees has been the biggest challenge for organizers.
Approximately 45,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed on Friday, along with about 10,000 soldiers and several thousand private security guards.
Buildings along the banks of the Seine have received special attention. Residents or visitors (whether homes, hotels, or offices) are being monitored, and there will be agents and snipers on rooftops.
At the Trocadero, besides French President Emmanuel Macron, notable attendees will include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US First Lady Jill Biden, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, among others. Up to 100 heads of state and government, as well as leaders of international organizations, will be present.
The security perimeter was established last Thursday, immediately causing complications for Parisians and tourists, who found the explanations about the QR code access system insufficient.
"It's astonishing that the whole heart of Paris is inaccessible, that you can't cross the river on foot," Pascale Guigou, who works at the Museum of Decorative Arts in the Louvre complex, told EFE from within the perimeter on Thursday.
Her museum has lost many visitors who had reserved tickets but couldn't enter the security zone. "We've lost almost all our visitors since July 18," when the restrictions began, she lamented.
Guigou summed up the situation as "a lack of foresight and constant changes in measures," almost "from one day to the next."
Strict security has also been visible around some sports delegations, with special units of the National Police (Raid) and the Gendarmerie (CIGN) providing special protection to athletes from 'sensitive' countries like Israel, the United States, Ukraine, Palestine, and Iran.
Airspace Closure
One of the most drastic measures for Friday's ceremony will be the closure of Paris airspace, starting at 6:30 PM (4:30 PM GMT) and ending around midnight (10:00 PM GMT).
This closure will be in effect within a 150-kilometer radius around the capital, meaning the three airports (Orly, Charles de Gaulle, and Beauvais) will have to suspend takeoffs and landings an hour before it starts.
"About twenty fighter jets will fly over the area, ready to intervene at any moment," explained General Laurent Rataud, commander of French Air Defense, in statements to France Info.
Surveillance will be carried out through a network of radars, drones, soldiers patrolling the Paris region, and even traditional lookouts.
Hypothetical threats range from a hijacked commercial plane to a drone or a motorized paraglider, Rataud added.
Transport Maze
Transport has also been a source of problems, especially for Parisians or suburban residents who work in the capital.
The area where the ceremony will take place, in the historic center of Paris, is closed off with 44,000 barriers, and specific QR codes are required for entry.
Several central metro stations are temporarily closed, and many streets and squares are off-limits to traffic.
Where traffic is allowed, special 'Olympic' lanes—marked with blue lines—have been set up for athletes and VIPs, causing even worse congestion for everyone else.
Even the Paris Peripherique, the ring road around the city, will face many restrictions on Friday and might be completely closed, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete warned on Thursday.
