After several days of urban violence in France following the death of young Nahel M., killed by a policeman during a check, one question among others comes up in the chaos of destruction and riots: the security of Olympic sites is it sufficiently insured? Is France ready to calmly welcome the 15 million tourists expected during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (from July 26 to August 11, then from August 28 to September 8)? All this, while the controversial page of Stade de France incidents, on the sidelines of the 2022 Champions League final, is barely closing.
One year from the opening ceremony, the question comes up all the more acutely as the aquatic center of Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis), which is to serve as a training pool during the Paris Games, was slightly damaged during the night of Thursday 29 to Friday 30 June. The flames of the fire of a dozen buses in the RATP depot which adjoins the swimming pool blackened the facade of the aquatic center and some windows broke, “but that shouldn’t call into question the schedule for its delivery”specifies Stéphane Troussel, the (socialist) president of the Seine-Saint-Denis departmental council – the opening is scheduled for spring 2024. Neither entail significant additional costs.
Although no other Olympic site has been affected to date, the concern remains real as a large number of infrastructures are located in the heart of the sensitive neighborhoods which have been set ablaze (athletes’ village, Olympic aquatic center , etc.). However, the public authorities want to be reassuring. “In the context of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have taken measures in recent days to further strengthen the security of the infrastructures”announced the Minister of Sports and JOP, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, Monday, July 3, on the sidelines of an event on violence in sport – remarks reported by Agence-France-Presse.
Although “preoccupied” by the urban violence of the last few days in France, the city of Paris has not ” no worries “ as for possible repercussions on the JOP, played down the mayor’s team, Anne Hidalgo, on Monday, when she presented the Parisian route of the Olympic flame. “The social and societal context is quite worrying, but we are one year away from the Games. Do not confuse the deadlines »estimated the first deputy, Emmanuel Grégoire, recalling the “tradition of the Olympic truces, a fundamental parenthesis”. The elected official assures: “The security risk is there, we manage it […] but we have to stop focusing on it. […] Our country is used to hosting events in an optimal way. »
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