Several parliamentarians stepped up to the plate on Wednesday to express concern about the security measures for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris revealed in the press by the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez, denouncing provisions that are “attacking freedoms”, “typical of a state of emergency”. “These provisions are typical of a state of emergency. Implementing such measures in a situation that is intended to be happy (…) is extremely curious,” reacted centrist senator Philippe Bonnecarrère, calling on the government in the hemicycle at the opening of Wednesday’s public session.
In everyday life The Parisian, Laurent Nuñez detailed several security measures for four perimeters close to the competitions during the 2024 summer Olympics in the capital, accompanied by varying degrees of restrictions, particularly for traffic. He mentions, for example, the need to register on a digital platform by providing proof of travel, with a QR code to present during checks, or the need to declare guests who would come to watch the opening ceremony from the windows of the Parisian apartments concerned.
Measures “attacking freedoms”
Centrist senator Nathalie Goulet singled out announcements made “without any prior consultation” for provisions that are “attacking freedoms”. “The QR code requires at the very least data collection and storage. I hope the minister can explain this.” Questioned by journalists after a press conference on Wednesday dedicated to the security perimeters of the 2024 Olympic Games, Laurent Nuñez justified this system by indicating that it was “permitted by law by a regulatory act taken by the Minister of Interior”.
It can be “either an order or a decree (…) after advice from the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties, Editor’s note). Obviously the system that I am going to propose and which will be submitted to the consultation will be part of this legal framework,” continued the prefect. According to Laurent Nuñez, the digital registration platform is an “efficient tool”, better suited “than carrying out these checks at police checkpoints”. “Otherwise, the truth is that we will not do them (…), the rule will be prohibition. It is much easier for the police to block a perimeter than to control each vehicle”.
“The Olympics have a good liberticidal taste”
Senator Loïc Hervé indicated that he had contacted the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin and the CNIL, guarantor of the personal data of the French. “It’s just astonishing. It’s even worse than we could have feared. I’m not aware of such restrictions and travel controls during previous editions of the Olympic Games”, reacted on the site (ex-Twitter) MP Insoumis Eric Coquerel. “The Olympics have a good liberticidal taste,” added his colleague Damien Maudet.
It’s just astonishing. It’s even worse than we could have feared. I am not aware of such restrictions and travel controls during previous editions of the Olympic Games, including in countries which are not known to be democracies! https://t.co/Bcdfe5xfmR
— Eric Coquerel (@ericcoquerel) November 29, 2023
“We are led by madmen who confine citizens on request. Let’s return to reason!” thundered Debout la France MP Nicolas Dupont-Aignan. The Senate is due to hear Laurent Nuñez late Thursday afternoon, as part of a mission to monitor the application of the law on Olympic security, adopted in Parliament in mid-April. “We would like to have visibility on all the measures,” reacted to AFP the co-rapporteur of the mission Agnès Canayer, who sits on the Les Républicains group.