why is France using foreign soldiers and police officers to help secure the Olympics?

To strengthen security for the next Games, 2,200 foreign police and gendarmes are being called in as reinforcements, announced the Ministry of the Interior.

Less than four months before the start of the Olympic Games, the security system for the event is evolving. If Gérald Darmanin plans the mobilization of 35,000 police officers and gendarmes, as well as 15,000 soldiers, each day of competition (from July 27 to August 10), the opening ceremony, on July 26, will be particularly supervised with 45,000 members of the law enforcement in the capital. A specific security protocol is planned for this open-air show, along the Seine, where more than 300,000 spectators are expected.

In addition to this general system, the Ministry of the Armed Forces announced, Thursday March 28, a military and police reinforcement of “several foreign nations” for the Games. Without giving a precise figure, at this stage.

A sector in tension

Poland underlined its participation, via a tweet about from the Polish Defense Minister on Thursday. “The Polish Armed Forces will join the international coalition set up by France to support the preparation and security of the 2024 Summer Olympics”. According to the minister, the Polish soldiers will be part of the dog brigade, with “sniffer dogs” and will have the mission “operations to detect explosives and combat terrorism”. The Interior Ministry informed AFP that Poland had offered 40 police officers and 13 dog teams. After the participation of Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister, at the French Council of Ministers on March 13, Germany also stipulated, in a joint statement published on the French ministry’s website, that it would send police officers to France for the Games.

Contacted by franceinfo, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces ensures that“they will support the French troops and will not replace them”. There are indeed tensions in this area, a manager of the National Training Center for dog units of the national police admitted to AFP.

A usual device for international competitions

The Ministry of the Interior, contacted by franceinfo, ensures that it has launched requests for “international cooperation” from 46 countries. In order to “take into account the ‘spectator experience’” And “respond to the capacity challenge of the Games”. He already announces the coming of “2,185 reinforcements”, came from all over the world. Around ten countries responded favorably to this request, according to the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

If France raised the Vigipirate plan to the “emergency attack” level on Sunday following the terrorist attack in a theater near Moscow, the support of foreign nations during international competitions is not new. “This was the case during the Rugby World Cup [2023]with 160 members of European security forces“, the Interior Ministry told franceinfo. During Euro 2016 in France, 180 police officers from 23 countries also increased the workforce, in particular to identify and monitor potential hooligans.

In 2022, during the Football World Cup in Qatar, some 200 French gendarmes and police officers lent a hand to the local authorities. A similar system was also put in place for the London Games in 2012, the Interior Ministry told franceinfo.