France requests foreign police and military assistance for Paris Olympics security

• France has requested over 2,000 police officers from 46 countries to assist in securing the Paris Olympics.
• The Interior Ministry requested foreign security assistance in January.
• The officers are sought to aid in-game security and spectator experience.

France has announced that it has asked 46 countries if they would be willing to supply more than 2,000 police officers to assist in securing the Paris Olympics this summer. Organizers are finalizing security planning for the French capital’s first Games in a century while on heightened alert against potential attacks.

On Friday, the Interior Ministry announced that it requested foreign security assistance in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements. The ministry stated that it is seeking officers to assist in Games security and enhance “the spectator experience,” as well as to “strengthen international cooperation.”

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

The Interior Ministry noted that France dispatched 200 of its gendarmes to soccer’s World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and also hosted 160 officers from other European security forces for the Rugby World Cup that France held last year.

Separately, Colonel Pierre Gaudillière, spokesman for the army general staff, stated that the French Defense Ministry has also solicited “small numbers” of military personnel from foreign nations who could assist with “very specific” tasks at the Games, including sniffer dog teams.

Poland’s defense minister announced that his country will be sending soldiers to the Paris Games. The Polish armed forces delegation will include dog handlers, and “its main goal will be to undertake activities related to the detection of explosives and counteracting terrorist phenomena,” the minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, posted on X.

Paris Games organizers face the biggest challenge of security in a city that Islamic extremists have repeatedly targeted with deadly attacks. The Games and Paralympics, scheduled from July 26 to August 11, are expecting as many as 15 million visitors. The opening ceremony, which will include boats along the Seine River and large crowds watching from the embankments, particularly heightens security concerns.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the decision to increase the country’s security alert posture to the highest level following the recent deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and Daesh’s claim of responsibility. Attal announced in a post on X, stating that authorities were “taking into account Daesh’s claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country.”

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