The French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Friday that over 90,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed on New Year’s Day; 6,000 of these security forces will be in Paris.
In addition, police will be reinforced with 5,000 soldiers from Operation Sentinelle – an ongoing counter-terror operation started in the wake of the 2015 Île-de-France attacks.
During a press briefing at the Paris police headquarters, Darmanin spoke of the high threat of terrorism due to the conflicts in Israel and Palestine. He confirmed that “73 mobile force units, including five units from the new CRS8” are part of the security measures, with helicopters also being utilised.
Furthermore, the sale and consumption of alcohol will be prohibited in certain parts of Paris, where larger celebrations are expected this year to kick off the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The festivities in the capital will commence at 18:00 31 December and end around 00:30 1 January, according to police chief Laurent Nuñez.
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Authorities anticipate crowds of between 700,000 and 1 million people on the Champs-Elysées alone, and over 1.5 million spectators total across the city. Large screens will be erected from Place de la Concorde to the top of Champs-Elysées.
Drones will also be deployed as part of the security measures. Nuñez stressed that security forces will be dispatched throughout the Paris metropolitan area (Paris and the Petite Couronne) as circumstances require.
