The debates were stormy but the vote went relatively unnoticed in the middle of summer. On August 4, the National Assembly ratified the agreement between France and Qatar establishing a partnership relating to the security of the 2022 Football World Cup, organized by the emirate from November 20 to December 18. Said intergovernmental agreement, put on track in 2019 and signed in March 2021, was voted by the Senate in February. It will enter into force on 1er November and is supposed to expire in June 2023.
In concrete terms, 220 French agents, “mainly from the national gendarmerie and civil security”as confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior, will travel to Qatar to support Qatari law enforcement during the tournament. “The French ambition is not to deploy units made up in large numbers but to provide high-level expertise and specialized operational support in so-called ‘niche’ areas covering the top of the spectrum of threatens “we develop in Beauvau.
In detail, the emirate will be joined by 170 anti-drone operators, 21 specialized operators from the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), 10 mine clearance operators, 10 canine teams looking for explosives, around ten of police officers provided by the national anti-hooliganism division. In the staff of the gendarmerie leaving for Qatar, several women are concerned.
No “policing culture”
“This mission is rewarding and will serve as a showcase and preparation for the French forces before the 2023 Rugby World Cup. and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris »argues someone close to the case, arguing that France remains a ” model “ in this area worldwide. And this, despite the hiccup in mondovision of May 28, during the Champions League final, at the Stade de France (Seine-Saint-Denis).
“France will not be alone in Qatar: several countries have been asked to help secure the event”, specifies the senator representing the French from abroad, Olivier Cadic (Centrist Union), rapporteur of the bill relating to the agreement. According to the parliamentarian, it is “ via Interpol Stadia [projet sur la sécurité des grands événements sportifs créé par Interpol en 2012, financé à hauteur de 10 millions de dollars par… le Qatar et prolongé, selon Mediapart, jusqu’en 2024] ” that “ this tender » Have been realised.
In the field, the 220 French agents will work alongside several thousand of their Jordanian, Italian, Turkish and American counterparts. “The idea is for there to be a transfer of skillsunderlines the deputy Amélia Lakrafi (Renaissance), rapporteur of the bill to the National Assembly. Since the awarding of the tournament in 2010, we know that Qatar is not big enough, does not have enough police officers and has neither the habit nor the culture of maintaining order. In Qatar, there are no demonstrations or crowd movements and the demand has become strong in terms of logistics with the holding of the World Cup and the presence of 1 to 1.5 million spectators. »
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