No obligation. Express consent. Prior information. The senators wish “remove any ambiguity” and bring “multiple warranties” as to “proportionality and constitutionality” the government’s plan to promote the generalization, on the occasion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2024, of body scanners at the entrances to events “sporting, recreational or cultural”.
Already in use in airports, this equipment should contribute to strengthening the pre-screening and filtering systems put in place to “prevent terrorist attacks as well as crowd movements or the stagnation of spectators which can cause serious incidents or constitute static targets”according to the explanatory memorandum in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Bill submitted to Parliament.
On Wednesday, January 18, the Senate Law Commission adopted four amendments in order to mention more explicitly what should be the conditions of use of these scanners in the context of sporting or cultural events welcoming more than 300 people.
The senators thus made a point of specifying that this equipment will have to be installed at the only ” initiative “ enclosure managers: “consequently, they cannot be imposed on them”, they insist, pointing out that “This equipment is very expensive and is not suitable for all access configurations”.
The senators also made a point of explicitly mentioning that the inspection-screening by means of body scanners, which will be carried out by private security agents, must be preceded by the consent ” on purpose “ of the inspected person. In the text of the bill, the government only used the term ” consent “.
The Senate Law Commission also wanted to add that “everyone must be informed beforehand of the existence [d’un] other device » than the body scanner. In this case, in the event of refusal to submit to this detection, security searches will be carried out. The government’s text only mentioned that“in case of refusal, the person is subject to another control system”.
Asked before the Senate’s examination of the bill, Ronan Evain, director general of the Football Supporters Europe association, recalled that body scanners have already been used ” for the FIFA World Cups in Russia and Qatar”. “It could be acceptable if it limited the need for palpation, but in both cases it was additional”he added.