2024-04-15 08:27:39
He outlined for the first time “plans B and C” in the event of a terrorist threat.
“This opening ceremony” along the capital’s river, on July 26, “is a first in the world. We can do it and we will do it,” said the President of the Republic in an interview on BFMTV and RMC from the Grand Palais construction site in Paris, which will host several events.
But “there are plans B and even plans C”, “and we prepare them in parallel”, he added.
The Head of State had already assured that fallback scenarios were being considered. For the first time, he began to detail them. “We will do a real-time analysis” of the risks, he added. “We have a ceremony that we are preparing which would be limited to the Trocadéro for example, and therefore we would not do the whole Seine”, “or even that we would repatriate to the Stade de France”, “because that is what is happening. done classically,” he explained.
Until now, the executive has officially ruled out a withdrawal to the Stade de France, in particular because the Seine-Saint-Denis venue receives tests before July 26.
Reassuring
Emmanuel Macron nevertheless wanted to reassure about the security system making it possible to maintain the river scenario, always privileged. “We have anticipated, we are setting up a security perimeter which will be very wide, where we will screen all the people who enter and leave,” he insisted.
To ensure as much security as possible, the size of the festival has also been reduced: the number of spectators able to attend free of charge has increased from 500,000 to 222,000. With those who paid for their place at the bottom of the platforms, there should be around 320,000 in total.
Three months before the launch of this global event, and while clouds are gathering internationally, the president also tried to relaunch the diplomatic usefulness of the Games.
France will “do everything to have an Olympic truce”, he declared, promising to work on it in particular with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I asked him to help me,” he added, confirming his coming to Paris “in a few weeks.” He is expected at the beginning of May, according to diplomatic sources.
In November, the UN General Assembly called on all countries in the world to respect the traditional “Olympic truce” on the occasion of the Paris Games.
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