Some 25,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilised to ensure security during the Paris Paralympic Games from 28 August to 8 September, outgoing French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Tuesday.
“The peak force will be 25,000 law enforcement officers in Île-de-France and Châteauroux,” Darmanin said at a press conference.
“We will have the support of the three intervention forces" - the Search and Intervention Brigade, BRI, the RAID elite tactical unit, and the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, GIGN - the minister added. This adds up to 300 officers, alongside “10,000 private security agents,” he said.
However, he clarified that there is no current “specific threat” to the Games.
The protection of sensitive delegations, including Israel's, “will be secured in the same manner as the Olympic Games,” Darmanin stated, including 27 athletes, 2 referees, and the chairman of the Paralympic committee, who will be “constantly protected.”
Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris Games organising committee, commended the decision to sustain “the level of mobilisation to ensure security from the relaying of the Paralympic flame.”
The Paralympics opening ceremony will take place on 28 August at Place de la Concorde under the guidance of artistic director Thomas Jolly. Sweden's Alexander Ekman was chosen to choreograph the event, surrounded by some 150 dancers, including around twenty with disabilities.
The Paralympic Games are set against the backdrop of the beginning of the school year and the resumption of political life in France, which is awaiting the formation of a new government.
Transport in Paris, particularly the older, less accessible metro, remains a challenge for persons with disabilities. However, outgoing Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said “over 65 stations are accessible.”
