Unprecedented security operation looks to keep Paris Olympics safe

They point to a litany of global conflicts and geopolitical tensions that have supercharged the atmosphere, including the Israel-Hamas war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

In addition to the Munich massacre, the Centennial Park bombing at the Atlanta games, the stabbing death of the father-in-law of the U.S. men’s volleyball coach in Beijing. Other lesser-known incidents show terrorists, dissidents, and attention seekers are always looking for opportunities to cast a dark shadow over the Games. 

“Munich was a changing point for us in security, even more so, in a way, than 9/11 because it showed the world is not the same,” says Dr. Lou Marciani, Director and Co-Founder of the Innovation Institute for Fan Experience.

“It's all going to come down to strategic planning. If they follow the format that certainly we utilize here in the United States and cover their bases and do it continuously, it's going to be OK. They’ve got to be cognizant of everything around them.”

Security officials, consultants, and organizers will have to balance keeping fans and athletes safe without destroying the atmosphere — a challenge Marciani’s firm has faced many times as it has worked to design safe and secure fan experiences.

“You can have all the fan experience you want, but safety and security is the core,” of the Olympic plans, says Marciani, who served as the first director of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi. “The intention is a seamless journey from the time you buy your ticket to your fly over until you go home. It's supposed to be a great experience, but the priority of the organizing committee is certainly security. 

“The fan will not be number one. Security is number one. They have a mentality going to Paris that it's touch and go. We must rely on the intelligence, because you're only as good as your intelligence and what’s on the ground.”

Identifying the Risks

Michael O’Connell, managing director of Critical Insights Consultancy, says the Olympics -- as with all major international sporting events -- requires extensive planning for security resilience with an “all threats, all hazards” approach to cover the myriad of challenges: physical, digital and cyber, emotional, cultural, political, economic, meteorological and health.

With the Olympics being a somewhat private event hosted by a nation, he says, security officials must comply with and assure the Olympic Federation and its highly specified security requirements, as well as those of the nation-state and visiting countries.

“The design and delivery mechanisms are extensive with all agencies, departments and industry having representations and delivery demands placed upon them to assure for a safe and secure games,” O’Connell says. “You can be assured it’s been thorough — enough to even withstand a surprise national election the month or so before games time. 

“And while you can mitigate for everything — as the games still need to go on — they will have sought to cover as much as is physically and economically possible, noting something from left field or an insider threat can always pop its ugly head up. So it’s the speed of identification and response that matters most.”

In a recent press conference, the International Olympic Committee continued to field media questions about security incidents and concerns -- one of them being recent emailed threats toward Israeli athletes.

James MacLeod, director of National Olympic Committee Relations, acknowledged the issue and said safeguards are in place “to make sure those are dealt with. It is a common occurrence, and in some delegations, obviously, it’s more than others.”

Because the games are in Europe, there will be challenges with open borders and “diverse and discrete population groups that can pose a threat. They will adopt a continental team security approach,” O’Connell says. All nations will be active and reporting in on threats, with often infield teams to aid responsiveness. Together with this will be specialized resources from Europol and Interpol.”

O’Connell notes that Europe has been on a heightened state of alert for several years, not least since the Ukraine invasion. As such, he says, most tactical teams are well-drilled, equipped, and ready to respond. 

“Their top team has received additions from the international community of specialists in these matters that have mentored and will be in play to assist during games time,” he says. 

France has enacted specialized legislation to empower special measures better as they may be required, he says, and with this greater flexibility in using military entities to support civil agencies like policing. 

“We have even seen specialized resource being brought in from places as far away as Qatar to aid a visible security resilience – that naturally will attract a political / religious influence for disruption tactics to any terror cells,” O’Connell says. 

Boots on the Ground

Earlier this year, The Associated Press reported that France’s government, the IOC President for the 2024 Paris Games and the French capital’s mayor signed an 11-page security protocol laid out to shield the opening ceremony from the threats of terrorism, drone attacks and other risks for the crowd and 10,500 athletes.

France was roundly criticized for choosing the Seine for an open-air celebration expected to draw more than 300,000 fans Friday, instead of opting for the safety of a traditional stadium -- although officials did reduce the crowd limit significantly.

Unless a severe terrorism threat forces French authorities to change their plans, athletes will be paraded from east to west along the river on more than 90 boats, with about 30 boats set aside for security.

According to media reports, some 30,000 to 45,000 French police officers and 18,000 troops are expected in and around Paris, and 5,000 are planned for the rest of the country. France asked nearly four-dozen countries to send police officers to help secure the games. Polish Armed Forces planned to send a task force of soldiers, including dog handlers.

France and Morocco also announced in April the countries will be helping each other "during the major sporting events that we will be hosting, in particular the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer and the African Cup of Nations in Morocco in 2025". 

Concerns regarding private security were also addressed. Initially projected to be about 20,000, the number of private security agents for the Olympics is expected to be about 25,000, according to Paris Police Chief Lauren Nunez. As of June, 93% of private security needs have been met. However, organizers were still looking for 400 agents for the opening ceremony.

During the opening ceremony, Nunez confirmed that 35 security boats would accompany the 94 riverboats carrying athletes along a six-kilometer (nearly four-mile) section of the Seine. AP reported that snipers will be stationed along the route, and the three tactical forces of the French police — BRI, RAID, and GIGN — will cooperate for the first time during the ceremony.

A Watchful Eye

Intelligence gathering is indeed a foundational aspect of the wide-ranging security plan to keep the Paris Games safe.

In a contributed article for SecurityInfoWatch, Theodore Singer, retired CIA specialist and senior advisory for The Cherthoff Group, notes geopolitics have marred past Olympics, “but this time feels different.

“France plays a prominent role in hot wars in Africa, Asia and Europe, and is closely aligned with countries, in particular the United States, which will have a major presence at the Games. If an attack – terrorist, cyber, or domestic – against the Olympics happens, a world teetering on the balance beam could easily lose its equilibrium.”

He says France’s security partners will be critical: Western intelligence services will work overtime to disrupt Russian planning to message about Ukraine, he says. European Union interior ministries will monitor racially and religiously motivated violent extremists and terror groups, and the U.S. will be helping French officials by “tracking Iran and its proxies and maintaining vigilance on ISIS and jihadists’ reanimation,” he says.

The entities reportedly involved with the Olympics are U.S. Intelligence Community Anti-Terrorism Operations, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Overseas Security Advisory Council, Foreign Emergency Support Team, Diplomatic Security Service and National Counterterrorism Center.

According to a well-sourced report in Reuters, French security services have been addressing an “intelligence blind spot” and forging deeper ties with Tajiks and other Central Asians in the country. The outreach comes in the wake of two major attacks this year that authorities say were carried out by Tajik members of ISIS-K, a resurgent wing of Islamic State named after the historical region of Khorasan that included parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

A double suicide bombing in Iran on Jan. 3 killed about 100 people at a memorial ceremony for slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, while the Moscow tragedy on March 22 saw gunmen open fire at concertgoers at Crocus City Hall, killing more than 130 people.

France has thwarted two separate terror attack plots targeting the Olympics, the government has said.

“We are concerned about the threat of terrorism, especially Islamic terrorism, but also the low-intensity threat from radicalized environmentalists, left-wing extremists, and the pro-Palestinian movement,” Nunez said at a news conference covered by AP.

“There is still no clear-cut threat to the Games or to our country, but I would remind you that at the end of May, two individuals were arrested in Saint-Étienne and were plotting an attack directly aimed at the Olympic Games.”

Technology Tools

Although security officials at the Olympic Games have been, understandably, tight-lipped about the specific technology to be employed, among them will be AI-driven video surveillance and analytics, biometric scanning, satellites, anti-drone technology, combat divers, military dogs social media monitoring and other tools.

Metal security fences have been erected around the Seine, and residents in neighborhoods surrounding the river face restricted travel.

Since April, the IOC has been touting AI innovations set to “transform” some aspects of the Games, including safeguards against cyber abuse. It anticipates more than half a billion social media posts during the events.

Other tools will be used to detect unusual activity, such as erratic crowd movements, a person loitering in a place for an unusual amount of time, luggage left unattended, or vehicles entering restricted areas.

With large-scale venues, such as those being protected at the Olympics, scale and complexity need to be taken into consideration, says Faisal Pandit, Vice President of Global Products at Johnson Controls, which is integrating advanced building automation systems, HVAC and fire suppression technologies across eight venues at the Paris Olympics.

The company says its work is helping the IOC prioritize safety and operational efficiency, contributing to the Committee's goal of reducing the event's carbon footprint by 50% compared to previous Games.

Pandit says Johnson Controls provides integrated security solutions in at least 10 arenas and baseball stadiums in the U.S.

Security operations, Pandit notes, must be configured to gather data from intrusion systems, access control, video, fire and life safety systems and more for quick analysis.

AI is a force multiplier in handling demanding tasks such as monitoring unexpected crowd behavior, emergency response, traffic management, monitoring activity in restricted areas or looking for individuals via facial recognition. Predictive analytics can be applied to provide enhanced threat detection and help security officials address problems more quickly.

But Pandit also stressed that security officials can’t rely on AI alone, which necessitates the massive presence of police and troops in France to ensure the Games' protection.

“I think AI has matured quite a bit, but there is still quite a bit of bias in any AI algorithm for that matter. I think it's one layer which provides data, but there must be checks and balances on top of that,” Pandit says.

Cloud-based video technology provider March Networks is helping to set up security for the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne and the Vaires-Torcy leisure complex.

Both sites are interconnected via a 5-kilometer-long radio link. March Networks Command Enterprise Software centralizes all camera feeds, providing strategic views and comprehensive coverage on a large video wall.

The company says centralized management in video surveillance is crucial for efficient, consistent, and streamlined monitoring, control, and data retrieval across multiple locations to provide security for the expected 30,000 daily spectators at the site throughout the games.

Civil liberty campaigners have also warned that Olympic security measures risk eroding freedoms. Critics have raised privacy concerns about video surveillance technology. Authorities are adding hundreds of surveillance cameras in regions that will host Olympic events, which critics contend are intrusive and toxic to the legacy of the Olympics.

Biometrics ‘a Force’

France passed a law with a legal framework for addressing the provisions of hosting the Games in their country that allows some advanced technologies to support the police and security efforts to detect sudden crowd movements, irregular vehicle and pedestrian movements, abandoned objects, people lying on the ground, and more — any of which could indicate an attack.

These technologies, which can be connected directly to localized command centers and police departments, provide an opportunity to prevent deadly incidents like the bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Heidi Hunter, Chief Product Officer at Aware, the provider of biometrics software products, solutions and services, says there are signs that citizens of the European Union are becoming more receptive to such measures. One recent French poll found an overwhelming number of respondents (89%) supporting the use of smart cameras in stadiums for security.

Hunter cites the case of New York City detectives using facial recognition to identify a man who, in 2019, left a pair of potential bombs in the Fulton Street subway station. “With facial recognition technology, it took only one hour to identify the suspect -- a process that previously would have taken several hours or even days, leaving the possibility of further damage unresolved,” Hunter says.

Many believe that the use of facial recognition could have expedited and solved the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy much sooner and more efficiently, aiding investigators who reportedly had to sift through 120,000 photos and nearly 13,000 videos before identifying the perpetrator, she adds.

“We believe biometrics can be a force for major good in our society and around various facets of the upcoming Paris Olympics, most notably public safety,” Hunter says. “It will be interesting to watch both the 2024 Summer Olympics and the ongoing evolution of privacy and security laws and practices in France and the European Union.”