Less than 100 days to the opening of the Paris Olympics possible problems are piling up.
In what has become a regular feature of the final months prior to the opening of an Olympic Games, the Paris 2024 games is running true to form.
Among the stories currently doing the rounds . . .
Problems with the Paris over the anti-drone shield
This focuses on the anti-drone defence shields planned to protect Paris from a hypothetical attack at the Opening Ceremony.
Possible problems were highlighted when the publication of a sensitive parliamentary report on the system was pulled, and it was confirmed that they had asked Thales for improvements to their “Parade” system.
A recently purchased Air Force anti-drone system, to detect and intercept drones within a 10-kilometre radius, is now being suggested as an anti-drone Plan B . . . read more here
More warnings of pollution in the Seine
A French charity has issued a warning about the pollution and dangers of the River Seine, which will be used for triathlon and open water swimming competitions during the Games.
Rain overwhelms the Paris sewerage system, leading to the direct discharge of untreated sewage containing bacteria derived from flora . . . think recent Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race on the Thames!
The Surfrider Foundation said that it had analysed laboratory tests and concluded that the water of the Seine, remains contaminated and potentially dangerous. Their measurements show levels of two bacteria, E. coli and enterococci, often double and sometimes three times the maximum permitted levels.
The bacteria indicates the presence of faecal matter . . . Read more here
Cyber attacks significant risk
The French government has had to come to the rescue of Atos, its data partner and cybersecurity provider for the Games, with a loan of €50 million.
The French General Secretariat of Defence and National Security has highlighted the danger of cyber attacks as a result of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, internet services in the stadium and television graphics were disrupted by hackers with a programme called “Olympic Destroyer”. A group of six Russian intelligence officers were later charged with hacking activities . . . read more here
Paris Lockdown
In an interview with ‘Le Parisien’, the Minister of the Interior explained the plan put in place to secure the opening ceremony and the Paris Games in general.
A whole area around the Seine will be closed to traffic a week before the Opening and the big boat parade on 26 July. On that day from 1 pm, “no one will pass, except for emergencies (ambulances, SAMU, SOS doctors, firemen…”. And within the perimeter, about 15 metro stations will be closed.
For the first time in the history of civil aviation the airspace will be closed from 7pm to midnight on the day of the ceremony, and visiting officials from all countries will have to stay overnight in Paris.
Despite considerable media scare-stories in the lead-up, most Olympics go ahead without major incident.
The two worst disrupted recent Olympics were the 1972 Munich Olympics, with a terrorist attack on Israeli Olympic team members by affiliates of a Palestinian militant group. A total of 17 hostages, police and attackers died.
And the 2020 Tokyo Olympics forced to move the Games by 12 months to 2021 due to the Covid Pandemic.
