A police officer stands next to the cauldron under the Grand Arche of La Defense, at the business district of La Defense, in the western Paris suburb, on July 24, ahead of the torch relay for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/Getty Images
When the Olympic Games officially open in Paris on Friday there will be lots of fanfare and celebration but also plenty of concern about security and more than a little political upheaval.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to welcome more than 100 world leaders for Friday’s lavish opening ceremonies, which take place along the Seine River and include a flotilla of around 100 barges carrying some 9,000 athletes.
Security officials have been on edge for months about potential terrorist attacks during the Games and especially at the opening ceremonies, which are the first to take place outside a stadium and will attract up to 300,000 spectators.
Around 45,000 police officers, soldiers and security officials will be on patrol and much of the area along the river has been sealed off to non-ticket holders. Another 1,900 security officials from 40 countries will also be on hand.
French law enforcement forces stand guard outside the Parc des Princes ahead of the men's group C football match between Uzbekistan and Spain, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 24.FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said this week that authorities had performed background checks on roughly one million people, including athletes, coaches, journalists, volunteers and residents living near Olympic venues. Close to 4,500 people have been denied access to the Games including 880 who have been suspected of engaging in foreign interference. On Tuesday a Russian man was arrested on suspicion of “organizing events likely to lead to destabilization during the Olympic Games,” according to a spokesperson for French police.
Mr. Darmanin said athletes from Ukraine and Israel will be given added protection.
The war in Israel has been a particular flashpoint in France and support for Palestine is strong among the New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing parties. Thomas Portes, an MP who is part of the coalition, told a pro-Palestine rally in Paris last Saturday that the Israeli delegation was not welcome in Paris. During a debate in the National Assembly on Monday, he said Israeli athletes should be forced to compete as neutrals much like those from Russia and Belarus.
His comments were condemned by French Jewish groups and Mr. Macron, who welcomed Israeli athletes to the city.
The French President will be a much weakened figure politically, when he greets world leaders for the Games, having called a snap election last month, which resulted in unprecedented uncertainty and discord.
Mr. Macron’s party took a drubbing in the election but no party or coalition won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. That has left the country without a government and Mr. Macron searching for someone to serve as prime minister. He’s put off the decision until after the Olympics and instructed the current cabinet to stay on as a caretaker government.
The delay has infuriated Mr. Macron’s critics on the left who say they won the most seats in the election and deserve to have their candidate named prime minister. Some MPs from the NPF have called for a mobilization during the Games to force Mr. Macron’s hand, and on Thursday a group of NPF supporters plan to hold a counter opening ceremony in central Paris.
“It’s a very bizarre situation,” said Patrick Weil, a political scientist at the University of Paris. “The whole world was shocked by the call for a snap election by Macron. All the heads of state and government know that he is not the man who has the whole power of the French government, and he’s a kind of lame duck.”
Pierre Rabadan, a city councillor and deputy mayor for sports, said on Wednesday that Paris is as prepared as it can be for the Olympics.
“We passed a lot of mountains, if I can say that, and we delivered everything we wanted in the right time,” Mr. Rabadan said in an interview near City Hall.
Mr. Rabadan said there is a lot of anticipation among organizers for the opening ceremonies and all eyes will be on the weather. One of the major concerns has been the flow of water in the Seine, which has been unusually strong in recent weeks because of abnormally high rainfall.
Local residents swim in the Seine under supervision of French Civil Protection, in Paris on July 17, 2024.JOEL SAGET/Getty Images
The water usually moves at between 100 to 150 cubic metres per second in the summer. But it has been tracked at more than 670 m/s in June. Organizers say anything over 500 m/s would pose major problems for the opening ceremonies because the boats would start moving too fast and throw off the timing of the flotilla.
On Wednesday, the flow was 345 m/s and Mr. Rabadan said the outlook for Friday is encouraging.
He also played down concerns about the quality of the water, which has been a major issue for athletes competing in open water events. While tests this spring showed high levels of E. coli and enterococci, an intestinal bacteria, more recent results have come in under the allowable limits.
Mr. Rabadan took a plunge in the river last week along with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to demonstrate its cleanliness for swimming. He added that the city remained on track to open three sites along the Seine for public swimming next summer, after being closed for decades.
“That’s the reconnection with their river. We lost it centuries ago, and this reconnection is really important.”