The Court of Auditors is sounding the alarm on the preparation of the 2024 Olympics, judging it "
imperative
" to step up the pace to meet the "
considerable
" security challenge represented by this event, with in particular the opening ceremony on the Seine and the "
torch relay
.
In a confidential 76-page report, revealed by Le Canard enchaîné and of which AFP has read, the Court insists on almost every page on the need to anticipate a general and massive mobilization of material and human resources to ensure security. .
A final version of this report is expected by the end of the year.
Two years before this event of global repercussions, and faced with the urgency of the situation, President Emmanuel Macron met Monday at the Elysée including Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to take stock.
Read alsoDisaster at the Stade de France: the Senate thrashes the police headquarters
After the chaos of the Champions League final at the Stade de France on May 28, doubts have arisen over France's ability to provide security for the Games (July 26-August 11, 2024).
In this respect, the reading of this preliminary report is alarmist insofar as it lists all the shortcomings to be taken into account at D-2 years: hospital capacity, public safety, health, terrorist risks, cyber risks, problem of acceptability games by the population... "
We are extremely humble in the face of the security challenges raised by the organization of these Olympic Games and we are working in close collaboration with all the services concerned
", assured AFP the organizers of Paris 2024.
Drawing lessons from the London Olympics in 2012, which had highlighted an underestimation of the costs and resources devoted to security, the document already recommends planning to make up for a "
probable shortage
" of security guards.
private security, of which 24,000 agents would be needed every day.
It thus suggests being able to call on the army and the operational reserves of the police and the gendarmerie.
Reduce the armada
“
A more precise definition of security needs is urgently needed
,” write the authors of the pre-report
.
"
The global security plan (...) must be consolidated, updated and stabilized
", they continue, adding: "
It is imperative to make arbitrations and to enter the phase of operational planning and organization of means
" .
Read alsoAfter the chaos of the Stade de France, concerns for the Olympic Games
The Court obviously evokes the opening ceremony, unprecedented.
Ardently desired by Emmanuel Macron and the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, it is designed as a great river parade on the Seine and accessible to the public.
It was planned in the initial project an armada of 200 boats and 600,000 spectators.
Unsurprisingly, she suggests reducing the fleet, carrying out simulations before the ceremony and adjusting the schedule of events on the day and the day after the opening ceremony to "
relieve the pressure on the security forces
" .
.
The former prefect of police of Paris Didier Lallement had considered "
unreasonable
" this ceremony as it is envisaged.
Another cause for concern is the "
torch relay
", from mid-April to July 26, 2024, a journey of 80 days for a journey of around 12,000 km.
The Court notes that the route could be reduced, several departmental councils refusing to finance the passage of the flame in view of the uncertainties on the economic fallout which it could generate.
To ensure security, it recommends entrusting the responsibility to the gendarmerie, given its experience in securing the Tour de France, and to have "a flexible approach" thus with the classic distribution between police and gendarmerie.
Read alsoSecurity: after the Stade de France fiasco, the 2024 Olympics arouse concern
The pre-report also pleads for a "
global action plan
" in terms of cyber security, because of the "
massively developing risks
".
To prevent drone attacks, it is suggested that a “
low-altitude 3D bubble be set up to secure the airspace around sites and places of celebrations
”.
The Court particularly addresses the subject of sailing events in Marseille and insists on the need for their organization to be accepted by the population.
In this respect, it considers that the beaches, in particular that of the Prado, must be fully accessible to the public during the duration of the Games, “
an important condition for acceptance of the event and a public order issue
”.
“
There are a number of recommendations in this report that we are already working on
,” Paris 2024 pointed out.