Paris Olympics 2024: Operation Sentinelle aims to provide Olympic Games with security blanket

The security operation in Paris for the Olympic Games will come under the French armed force’s Operation Sentinelle.

“It’s completely logical for the armed forces to contribute to Olympic security,” said French Chief of Defence Staff General Thierry Burkhard.

“Given that it’s an exceptional event, there can be an exceptional contribution. The real question for me is planning ahead… given that some things are likely to happen more or less at the last minute,” Burkhard added.

General Burkhard’s plans currently call for 15,000 troops — as part of Operation Sentinelle — to protect transport hubs and major routes to the Games.

The Sentinelle force was created to guard prominent French sites after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks in 2015. There have since been multiple attacks against the armed forces in the French capital, including at least four in 2017.

Paris is deploying around 30,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, which run from July 26 to Aug. 11, with a peak of 45,000 for the opening ceremony on the Seine river. Private security firms will manage access and the space inside the cordons.

During the 2012 London Olympics, the British government had to deploy 3,000 additional troops days before the Games started as private security company G4S failed to provide enough private security guards.

With 15 million visitors expected during the Paris Games, the French security force will be pushed to the limit to maintain the expected security standards.

Inputs from Graphic News