the security record deserves “a gold medal for the police and gendarmes”, believes Gérald Darmanin

The president of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tony Estanguet, went with Gérald Darmanin on Friday to thank the police, for whom “everything went wonderfully well” from a security point of view.

Two days before the end of the Paris Games, the head of the organizing committee Tony Estanguet visited the command rooms of the Paris police headquarters on Friday, August 9. The latest security challenges concern the three marathons organized on Saturday and Sunday, and of course the closing ceremony on Sunday evening at the Stade de France, for which 10,000 police officers and gendarmes are mobilized.

In the second basement of the police headquarters, Tony Estanguet discovered the command room, from where the management of demonstrations is usually managed. Nearly 70 police officers in a sort of amphitheater, each with their own computer and a large video wall. “There are the television channels, the images in Paris, the drones… All the images at our disposal to follow the events, describes the director of public order, Jérôme Foucaud. From a security perspective, everything went fantastically well.”

The visit of the head of Cojop, joined by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, passes through three other rooms, including the one which groups together the BRI, the RAID and the GIGN. “The party is extraordinary, and we know what we owe them, says Tony Estanguet. They work 24/7, don’t see a minute of sport, and they are at the service of the success of this event. The very good security allowed the party, it was very important for all of us.”

“If there are gold medals given to athletes, there is also a gold medal to give to French police officers and gendarmes!”

Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior

to franceinfo

The minister, like the police prefect Laurent Nunez, are pleased that there have been no major incidents at this stage, but the Games are not over: vigilance remains full. “We have three marathons, with outdoor athletes, the closing ceremony… We remain very focused,” underlines Laurent Nunez.