Paris Olympics 2024: French capital beefs up security with drones, dogs, and divers

Ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony on July 26, authorities have deployed a large security contingent led by the French army to secure the capital city during the event.

The Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony will see the athletes sail down the River Seine – a first in Olympic history. As a result, French security is on high alert in and around the river, and security measures, including divers, dogs, and drones have been deployed to snuff out any threats.

The opening ceremony, which will start at 7:30 pm local time, will have more than 10,500 athletes sail down a six-kilometre route on River Seine aboard 96 boats. The route will start at the Pont d'Austerlitz bridge and end in front of Trocadero.

Quays and grandstands have been constructed along the river banks, and a limited number of the general public will be allowed to view the opening ceremony live.

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How have French authorities secured the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony?

As part of the increased security measures for the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony, the authorities have deployed military drones, operated by expert soldiers from the artillery regiments. Other than the patrols, anti-drone measures, such as the MILAD system and jammer guns, have also been deployed.

The patrolling soldiers have also been teamed up with trained dog teams, who will assist in human detection and neutralisation, and explosive detection. French authorities have deployed around 100 dog-and-handler pairs in and around the opening ceremony arena, tasked with dealing with threatening individuals.

Interestingly, India has also sent 10 K9 units to provide security to the Indian contingent during the Paris Olympics 2024 ceremony.

In an attempt to completely secure the entire stretch of the River Seine, authorities have also deployed a team of divers, who are conducting checks in the 3.5-kilometre stretch between the Nelson Mandela Bridge and the Pont d'Austerlitz bridge.

The divers, who are equipped with advanced equipment such as FROGS (Full Range Oxygen Gas System) to deal with strong currents and low visibility, are conducting searches on the 180 boats taking part in the opening ceremony parade to detect explosives or any other threats.

On the day of the opening ceremony, eight high-speed river engineering crafts will patrol the area of the River Seine and underwater anti-intrusion barriers will be kept as an anti-threat measure.