France has rejected thousands of applications for Paris 2024 Olympic Games accreditations over security concerns including the presence of Russian journalists.
French Minister of Interior Gérald Darmanin said the French Government had checked about a million accreditation requests for the Games.
As of writing, among the more than 4,000 discarded profiless, many were suspected of being “agents” – spies or informers – for foreign countries seeking to interfere with the event. Darmanin cited potential espionage threats, specifically pointing to Russia and Belarus as sources of concern.
“We refused to accept large numbers of ‘journalists’ who claimed to be covering the Games,” he told the weekly Journal du Dimanche on July 20.
“They are probably not there to carry out attacks. But in addition to intelligence and traditional espionage, there is the possibility of accessing entry points into computer networks to carry out a cyberattack,” he added
Adopting a precautionary stance, Darmanin emphasised that France had allowed Russian personnel affiliated with the International Olympic Committee to attend.
“We accepted the presence of Russians working for the International Olympic Committee [IOC],” he said.
Still, the decision to bar Russian journalists has increased tensions with Moscow.
On July 22, the Kremlin condemned France’s actions as a breach of media freedom and a violation of international commitments.
“We consider such decisions unacceptable. We believe such decisions undermine the freedom of the media. And they certainly violate all of France’s commitments to the OSCE [The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe] and to other organisations,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Relations between Russia and France have sharply deteriorated since the war in Ukraine started two years ago.
France, under President Emmanuel Macron, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, providing military aid and advocating for the use of Western-donated weaponry against Russian forces. Macron has consistently argued that Europe’s credibility hinges on preventing a Russian victory.
Ukraine should be allowed to use donated Western weapons to “neutralise” mainland Russian military installations, French President Emmanuel Macron said. https://t.co/TwQWqW1GQh
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 30, 2024
Concerning security for the three-week Games, which start on July 26, Paris will be deploying around 50,000 security personnel in abid to guarantee the safety of the attendants, athletes and officials and the unique opening ceremonies.
According to Darmanin, there are “no identified threats” regarding the Olympics.
“Apart from the flow of the river and the low risk of bad weather, there is – to date – no identified threat to the Games. Neither our intelligence services nor the foreign services with which we coordinate have detected any foreign threat. But you have to stay very humble and focused,” he said.
France tested Artificial Intelligence-driven video surveillance technology that will be deployed during the forthcoming Olympic Games at a concert by English electro-pop band Depeche Mode. https://t.co/uDNdMtpUIy
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 8, 2024
On July 13, Darmanin had already taken stock of the situation on X, mentioning that French security had rejected more than 3,500 people, some over radical Islamist connections or suspicion of being foreign spies.
He said: “770,000 administrative investigations have been carried out to date, making it possible to exclude 3,570 people including dozens of radical individuals close to Islamist, ultra-left and ultra circles .”
Jeux olympiques : 770 000 enquêtes administratives ont été réalisées à ce jour, permettant d’écarter 3 570 personnes dont 130 fichés S, 16 fichés FSPRT et des dizaines d’individus radicaux proches des milieux islamistes, d’ultra-gauche et d’ultra-droite.
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) July 13, 2024
