With the event just three months away, the attack in Russia has prompted Paris to tighten anti-terrorism measures
File photo: French soldiers patrol the streets as part of the counter-terrorist Vigipirate plan, France, 2019 © Getty Images / Nicolas Liponne/NurPhoto via Getty Images
France has called on its international allies to help enhance security for the upcoming Olympic Games, in Paris, AFP reported on Thursday, citing sources in the government.
According to the report, Paris has asked 46 nations to send 2,185 police reinforcements for the duration of the games in order to take over tasks that require additional specialists.
The French authorities have not yet confirmed that such a request was made, but Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Thursday announced on X (formerly Twitter) that his country’s armed forces would “join the international coalition established by France” to provide additional security at the Olympics. He didn’t reveal the size of the contingent Warsaw plans to send, but noted that it would deploy canine units whose job will be to “detect explosives and counteract terrorist activities.”
An Interior Ministry source told AFP that the request for reinforcements is a “classic move for host countries ahead of the organization of major events.” However, the news comes just days after Paris raised the terrorism threat level in the country to its highest level following the deadly attack in Moscow, which killed more than 140 people.
On March 22, four gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall concert venue just outside Moscow, going on a shooting spree and setting the building on fire. The gunmen had allegedly been recruited on behalf of ISIS-K, an Afghanistan-based offshoot of the terrorist organization Islamic State.
Russian investigators later revealed that the perpetrators had received funding for the attack from Ukraine.
In a press statement following the attack in Russia, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that the threat of terrorism in France is “real and strong,” adding that the country’s intelligence services have foiled 45 terror plots since 2017. He noted that France’s current anti-terror security measures, part of the country’s national security alert system called the Vigipirate Plan, will be tightened in the coming weeks, with security forces maintaining a more visible presence on streets and in front of possible targets such as government buildings, transportation infrastructure, and schools.
The Vigipirate Plan has been in place since 2015, when France faced a series of devastating terror acts linked to Islamic State. They included the attack at the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de France stadium, and drive-by shootings and suicide bombings across Paris.
This year’s Olympics will run from July 26 to August 11. Around 45,000 French police and gendarmes, 18,000 troops and up to 22,000 private security guards are expected to work at the games, AFP reported, citing official figures.
