Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez indicated Thursday that the anti-terrorist protection perimeter for the Olympic Games ceremony would be extended to buildings located on the banks of the Seine, while ensuring that everything was done “to disrupt people’s lives as little as possible.” “The perimeter will extend to all buildings bordering the Seine which have a visual on the parade”, which will take place on July 26 over six kilometers, from the Austerlitz bridge to the Trocadéro, announced the prefect of police during a press conference.
Anyone who resides within this perimeter or wishes to enter it, by car or on foot, will have to register on the digital platform, which is scheduled to open on May 10, and will be subject to a security investigation (“screening”). . “Spectators will not be affected by these investigations,” underlined Laurent Nuñez. It will come into force on Thursday July 18, eight days before the ceremony. All metro stations located within this perimeter will be closed, without leading to the closure of lines. The RER C, notably the Invalides and Saint-Michel stations, will operate.
“Disrupt people’s lives as little as possible”
All around this protection zone, located as close as possible to the river, “a perimeter prohibiting motorized traffic” will be deployed, also from July 18. For this perimeter, “we will not be obliged to register on the platform, to have a QR code”, he clarified, referring to “more flexible assessments at police checkpoints”. “We want to disrupt people’s lives as little as possible. Residents, people who work there, deliveries will be able to benefit from exemptions at any time of the day,” he assured.
However, “from 1 p.m. on the day of the ceremony”, most of the exemptions “will no longer be valid for traveling within this perimeter”, said Laurent Nuñez. Furthermore, to avoid having “Paris cut in two for eight days”, five crossing bridges will be maintained. Around “20,000 people”, residents and traders, will be “directly impacted” by the opening ceremony, said the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, also present at the press point.