Only a few days left until the kick-off. The ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games will open on Friday, July 26, under the eyes of the world’s media. The most optimistic, like the German daily South German newspaperhope to see a “vast urban celebration capable of affirming national sentiment.” While 15 million visitors are expected for this world competition, other foreign observers are more worried.
The Spanish newspaper The Country points the finger at gloomy Parisians, for example, when some question the cleanliness of the Seine – whose decontamination program cost 1.4 billion euros. “The quality of the water in the Seine is far from irreproachable, as the numerous analyses conducted in preparation for these 33rd Olympics have continually shown,” chides American channel ABC Newstaken over by International mail. More prosaically, The Age, Australian daily newspaper published in Melbourne, headlined : “The Seine that stinks: where the fish go to die and where the excrement protests against the Olympic Games are born” – in reference to the Internet users who called for people to defecate in the Seine before Anne Hidalgo bathed in it.
Among the fears shared by the foreign press, the security aspect rises to pole position. “Security issues are worrying, especially since we are witnessing a resurgence of attacks by radical Islamists,” judges the American weekly. Time. While most of the competition will take place in the heart of the capital, journalist Kow Ewe calls it an “ambitious break with tradition” [NDLR : qui veut que les infrastructures se situent plutôt en dehors des villes] […]but also potentially the most dangerous.” Especially since the city of Paris has, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, prepared an opening ceremony outside a stadium. A feat, but also an additional challenge in terms of security.
In addition, the American magazine reports “security problems” that have “increased” in recent months, citing the arrest of an 18-year-old man last May who allegedly planned a jihadist attack targeting the Olympic football events. The American newspaper New York Times adds that France “has unfortunately become accustomed to terrorist threats and soldiers patrolling its crowded squares and train stations, their fingers hovering over the triggers of machine guns.” In Germany, the Time online recalls that “the city of Paris had maintained its candidacy, even though it was hit by a wave of Islamist attacks in 2015, the year it applied.”
“One of the nations most at risk”
While France has too often made headlines for terrorist attacks, the measures adopted by the French government are draconian: closed airspace, reduced crowd sizes and a muscular police force. In total, 35,000 police officers and gendarmes and 18,000 French soldiers will be mobilized during the Olympic Games. It should be noted that the latter will be supported by a contingent of foreign agents. “We have more than 80 countries helping us, who have sent police officers, gendarmes, and mine clearers to make these Olympic Games the best ever,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Monday, July 15. To ensure the safety of the public and athletes, 44,000 barriers will be deployed during the road races and the opening ceremony.
So many preventive measures listed in an article in the Italian centre-left daily The Republic. As this sporting event approaches “which will take place amidst wars, attacks and madness (see what is happening in the United States)”, the journalist points out that the Italian delegation will parade in particular with that of Israel, “one of the most controlled and most at-risk nations, also followed during sporting events around the world by Mossad agents.”
Furthermore, the daily The Times of Israel reports that Israeli athletes have received threatening emails and fears a repeat of the events of Munich 1972, a reference to the massacre in which the terrorist group Black September stormed the Olympic Village and took Israeli athletes hostage, ultimately killing 11 people and a German police officer.
For its part, the American online media Bloomberg sums up the tense geopolitical context in which these Olympic Games are taking place: “Some 88 Israeli athletes and eight Palestinians are participating in the Games, while the war between Israel and Hamas rages and France is experiencing an alarming increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes. At least one terrorist plot has already been foiled. More than half of the Russian and Belarusian athletes authorized to compete have links to military agencies or have expressed support for the war in Ukraine.”
Despite these apprehensions, the tone of the foreign media is less alarmist than it was a few months ago. In April 2024, Politico spoke of “Macron’s terrorist nightmare at the Olympics.” Last January, it was the Italian weekly “Friday” which was titled “Warning: dangerous games”.
A few days before the start of the competition, fears are fading without disappearing. And some, like our Belgian neighbours in Evening applaud the Parisian developments: “Even if there are still some meteorological unknowns and if the plans will have to be compared with the reality on the ground, the organizers have managed to complete the work and adjustments on time.” It remains to be seen what challenges the Olympic Games will face in the coming days.