Risk of Russian interference and threat of jihadist attack still high ahead of Olympics, according to intelligence

The most feared scenario is that of an attack by an isolated Islamist, off the radar, ordered from abroad, according to information from France Inter.

The risk of Russian interference and the threat of a jihadist attack are still high ahead of the Paris Olympics, according to information from France Inter to the intelligence services on Friday, July 12. In recent weeks, these services have deployed all their resources to detect the slightest signal of a future threat to the Olympic Games.

Among the most serious threats detected, the one coming from Russia with the fear that Vladimir Putin’s regime will continue its information war. In recent months, Russia has indeed been accused of being behind several destabilization operations, such as the coffins placed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, or the numerous tags written in the streets of several districts, or the red hands painted on the Shoah Memorial. French intelligence officials do not imagine an Olympic truce on this subject of Russian interference, quite the contrary.

But beyond this threat, the scenario most feared by French intelligence is the threat of an attack by an isolated Islamist, off the radar and under the orders of people abroad. However, there is no terrorist project detected at this stage, confides a senior intelligence official, who adds that some of the latest attacks committed in Iran, Africa or Turkey took only a few weeks to be prepared.

This source adds that currently, a dozen Islamic State order givers are listed in the Turkish-Syrian zone. People capable of activating in Europe small hands, ready to commit attacks. This scenario is the one most feared by the intelligence services. A scenario that the internal and external counterterrorism services seek to hinder at all costs.