The backgrounds of the employees and ticket holders who want to attend the Paris Olympics and Paralympics have been thoroughly investigated. Several thousand applications have also been rejected.
21.7. 15:44•Updated 21.7. 17:05
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French authorities have blocked some Russian and Belarusian journalists from entering the Paris Olympics. French Minister of the Interior by Gérald Darman said that more than 4,300 applications for the Olympic Games and Paralympics have been rejected.
– We have refused a large number of applications from journalists who claimed they wanted to report on the Games. On the other hand, we accepted the applications of Russians who work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). We are guided by the precautionary principle, Darmanin said For Le Journal du Dimanche.
The race organizers have so far checked the backgrounds of around 960,000 employees, volunteers or ticket holders of the games, and Darmanin believes that the number will rise to one million before the opening ceremony on Friday next week. The inspections have looked for persons who might cause security threats at the games.
According to the Minister of the Interior, accreditations have been rejected due to national security, Islamist radicalization, the extreme left and the extreme right. Among them are persons who are suspected of harassment, who have a criminal record or who are obliged to leave the territory of France.
– We are particularly attentive to the citizens of Russia and Belarus, Darmanin said, but did not connect the rejections to Russia’s war in Ukraine or Belarus’ role as Russia’s ally.
According to Darmanin, administrative monitoring and control measures as well as home visits have been made for Olympic and Paralympic athletes. According to him, these measures were aimed at “very dangerous people or those who can potentially take action”.
France has prepared for the Olympic Games by increasing the number of police, gendarmes and other security personnel at the competition venues, surveillance cameras and artificial intelligence systems have also been increased.
Sources: Le Journal du Dimanche, AP, TASS
Update at 17:05: Updated the number of rejected accreditations and inspections.