France to Boost Olympics Security with Foreign Military, Police Support

FILE PHOTO: French police patrol at the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: French police patrol at the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
TT

France to Boost Olympics Security with Foreign Military, Police Support

FILE PHOTO: French police patrol at the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: French police patrol at the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

France has asked about 45 foreign countries to contribute several thousand extra military, police and civilian personnel to help safeguard the Paris Olympics this summer, government sources said on Friday, amid a complex geopolitical and security outlook.
The country plans to deploy about 45,000 French police and security forces, 20,000 private security personnel and around 15,000 military each day to protect an event that will see millions of sports fans and tourists stay in the country for several weeks at the height of summer.

Germany will introduce temporary border controls as part of ramped-up security around soccer's 2024 European Championship which it is hosting, the interior minister said Tuesday.
The tournament starts on June 14 and is set to attract 2.7 million fans to stadiums and up to 12 million at public viewing events.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
TT

‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.