French security services have reported they prevented several terrorist attacks during the Paris Olympics and Paralympics Games.
Olivier Christen, the senior leader of France’s anti-terrorism unit, said the planned attacks were set to take place in the French capital and Saint-Étienne.
Five indictments have been reported, including one for a minor.
Alleged targets included Israeli institutions and representatives of Israel in Paris and two people from the Gironde region.
The first planned attack, according to law enforcement authorities, targeted the football events in Saint-Étienne, in “bar-type establishments, around the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium”, the anti-terrorist prosecutor told Franceinfo.
An 18-year-old man of Chechen origin was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in May in relation to the allegations.
“The second plot targeted Israeli institutions or diplomatic representations in Paris during the competition,” Christen said.
“The Israeli team itself was not specifically singled out,” he emphasised.
“Additionally, two individuals from Gironde had planned an attack during the Olympic Games period,” Olivier Christen revealed. “All suspects involved in these planned attacks have been apprehended,” he said.
Addressing the complex international security landscape and the significant terrorist threat to France, the anti-terrorism prosecutor reported that authorities had conducted “936 preventive searches” in 2024, a sharp increase from 153 in 2023.
France took heightened security measures in light of the Olympic Games. Interior minister Gérald Darmanin consistently warned of security concerns including possible attacks from Islamists, radical environmentalists and pro-Russian agitators.
Paris effectively became a no-fly zone during the Games opening ceremony, with only police drones and surveillance aircraft in the sky.
Civil drone operators, who did not get permission to fly their aircraft, faced strict punishment. Some 85 such operators were apparently arrested.
France's high-speed train network has been attacked just before the Olympics. Here's where it was hit. ⬇️
Read the full article ?? https://t.co/Wjbp5GmJCP #Paris2024 #Olympics #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/c11GNpq382
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 26, 2024
“Jihadist threats predominated among the thwarted plots,” the prosecutor reported, noting that 80 per cent of terrorism-related prosecutions were linked to such.
“The Islamic State continues to disseminate its propaganda effectively,” he added, highlighting the persistent nature of the threat.
During the Games, 30,000 officers and gendarmes patrolled Paris, while additional forces were deployed across other cities hosting Olympics events.
In total, around 45,000 police officers were mobilised during the Paris Olympics and 25,000 during the Paralympics.
