France to Boost Olympic Security with Foreign Military, Police Support

France has asked 46 countries to help with providing an additional 2,000 security support staff to secure the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Paris with the country on heightened alert against potential attacks.

According to The Associated Press, the French Interior Ministry said Friday that the request for foreign security assistance was made in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements. France sent 200 of its gendarmes to soccer’s World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and also welcomed 160 officers from other European security forces for the Rugby World Cup that France hosted last year.

“This is a classic approach of host countries for the organization of major international events,” the ministry added.

Poland’s defense minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, posted on X that his country will send soldiers to Paris including dog handlers and “its main goal will be to undertake activities related to the detection of explosives and counteracting terrorist phenomena.”

France’s government increased its security alert posture to the highest level in the wake of the recent deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the decision on X, saying authorities were “taking into account the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country.″

The start of the Games will be one of the most highly policed. French Interior minister Gerald Darmanin told French TV Channel France 2 in January that some 300,000 spectators will be able to attend the July 26 Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Summer Games in Paris, about half the size of what was originally planned. The show on the River Seine will mark the first time that an opening ceremony is held outside of a usual stadium setting.

The athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along a 3.7-mile route. Both banks of the river will be lined by spectators, behind multiple security cordons, with tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed. French President Emmanuel Macron said in his New Year’s address that the Opening Ceremony extravaganza could be moved if France is hit in the run-up by extremist attacks. The Opening Ceremony will also be under heavy attention after the International Olympic Committee’s announcement earlier this month that any neutral athletes from Russia or Belarus will not participate in the event.

France plans to deploy about 45,000 French police and security forces, 20,000 private security personnel and around 15,000 military each day, according to Reuters. According to the report, a French government source said 35 countries had so far responded positively. Israel and the U.S. will also send their own security capacities, Reuters said, adding several Israeli delegations have already been to France to iron out potential difficulties, the sources said.

The war in Gaza has led to concerns about the safety of the Israeli delegation. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said in early March that “since the heinous attack on the Israeli team (during the 1972 Munich Olympics), there were always special measures being taken with Israeli athletes.”