From security to Simone Biles, 5 Paris Olympics stories to know
As the Paris Olympics approaches, here’s what you need to know about the first post-pandemic Olympics.
PARIS – For example, it might be the first sparks of a fire, someone appears to be brandishing a weapon, a vehicle enters a closed zone or a crowd suddenly surges forward.
These are some of the potential red flags that French authorities will be watching for with the help of artificial intelligence during the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. High-powered security cameras installed at Olympic venues and AI-assisted software will be used to detect trouble in real time.
Organizers of one of the world’s most-watched sporting events are planning a major security operation targeting threats such as extremist plots, cyberattacks, civil unrest and opportunistic theft — efforts that could come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Camille Chaize, a spokesman for France’s interior ministry, said authorities were trying to balance keeping people safe with making the events accessible and enjoyable.
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France’s security net will include special anti-terrorism measures and laws, tens of thousands of additional police and military personnel, and increased patrols near landmarks and tourist sites.
“We’re very pleased with the progress so far,” Chayes told USA Today.
That confidence is tinged by dark memories of past mass casualty attacks in France and elsewhere.
In 2015, Islamic State militants killed 150 people in an overnight massacre in Paris. The following year, an ISIS-inspired attacker drove a 19-ton truck into crowds on the French Riviera in Nice, killing about 86. In 2017, a lone gunman set fire to an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, killing 60 people and wounding more than 400.
The “threat matrix” facing the Olympics – terrorism, cyber attacks and protests – are all areas “that France knows well,” a US security official told USA Today. “As we get closer to the Olympics, it’s a question of scale, the fact that there is so much to protect,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the security mission.
France has maintained its highest terror alert level, known as a high-altitude attack, since October 2023 when a French national with apparent ties to Islamist militants killed a teacher in the northern city of Arras. In May, police said they had thwarted an attack planned by a Chechen teenager. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said the suspect was planning an “Islamist” attack at a soccer stadium during the Olympics.
It’s true that defending Paris is a tough task.
Even under normal circumstances, France is prone to social unrest due to tensions between police and some communities and a tradition of violent street protests. Seen as a standard-bearer for secular liberalism in the West, France has also become a prominent target for terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists.
With the world watching, France will likely combine time-worn police techniques with the latest technology.
Before the games begin, up to one million people will have had their backgrounds checked for ties to Islamic extremism or far-right and far-left extremism — many of them ordinary Parisians who live and work along the four miles of the Seine. The opening ceremony will see a parade of some 90 boats carrying the athletes through the heart of the world’s most magnificent city.
About 35 security boats will accompany the athletes. Police and military snipers will line the route. It will be an Olympic first, with the ceremony taking place on a river. The shooting at a Trump election event on July 13 illustrates the challenges of staging events safely in dynamic public spaces.
But threats are also becoming harder to predict.
The cyber defenses of France’s intelligence and security services are poised to track and disrupt the many malicious actors using a range of means, from cheap drones to disinformation spread on social media, to cause chaos and more.
Labor, social justice, environmental and Middle East-related protests, which are common in Paris, will be confined to specially designated areas — at least, that’s the hope of authorities.
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AI: Tracking ‘Abnormal Patterns’
One area of Olympic security that has garnered attention is France’s use of AI to help ensure the safety of the estimated 15 million people expected to visit Paris during the Games.
The impact of AI is being felt across many sectors and industries. The use of AI in the Olympics is perhaps the most high-profile example to date of AI being used to detect security threats. In the United States, various laws at the state and local levels are attempting to regulate AI facial recognition capabilities.
French law prohibits the public release of facial recognition and biometric technology altogether. AI-enhanced algorithm video surveillance cameras deployed around the Olympic venues in Paris could do this. But the government says AI will be used in Paris, even if it won’t track specific individuals.
Human rights groups warn that this is a scenario in which AI could be used to infringe on civil liberties.
Mathieu Zagrodzki, a security expert at CESDIP, a criminal justice research center at the University of Versailles, said Paris’ AI cameras would be limited to Olympic venues and not be used in public spaces more generally.
He said they would track crowd movements, suspicious bags and, most controversially, what he described as “unusual patterns,” which raise questions about what behavior is considered “normal.”
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“For example, you might see a queue moving in one direction and people moving in the other direction, or people moving back and forth, or people just standing in the same place for quite a long time,” said Zagrodzki, who is also a consultant to French police.
“Similarly, if something like a fight breaks out, an alarm will sound and catch the attention of the person operating the AI camera” so its severity can be assessed, Zagrodzki added.
Chayes, from the French Interior Ministry, said French law allows police to “experiment” with AI surveillance but that the law does not apply to facial recognition, and that the experiment is due to end in June next year.
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He said the law allows authorities to use AI cameras to monitor eight “specific occurrences,” including fires, if someone appears to have a weapon or if a vehicle is seen entering a restricted traffic zone.
“This allows us to identify any issues that may be occurring and have patrols look at what’s going on,” Chayes said.
Chauys did not respond to a question about whether French authorities had changed their security plans for the Olympics in light of the assassination attempt on Trump.
“A police officer and a diplomat”
French authorities will have overall responsibility for Olympic security, but national governments will be responsible for the protection of their athletes and citizens.
Team USA will send the largest delegation to the Paris Games, with approximately 600 athletes representing the United States in 31 of the 32 sports at the Paris Games. The athletes will be accompanied by U.S. Olympic officials, coaches, doctors, support staff and family members. Representatives of the Games’ U.S. corporate sponsors, visiting lawmakers, celebrities, sports fans and American tourists will also be in Paris.
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Much of this American security is coordinated through a security post in the US Embassy in Paris, housed in a wood-paneled room that, during a visit by USA Today in June, had the feel of a university library.
There, special agents from the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service will work with representatives from all major U.S. security, defense and intelligence agencies, manage agents who accompany U.S. Olympic sports teams, share threat information and intelligence with French agents, and help coordinate emergency responses in the event of a security incident or attack.
“We are essentially police officers, but we are also diplomats,” said the Paris-based official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because DSS work involves sensitive security planning.
A second U.S. security official, speaking on condition of anonymity for the same reasons, also said French authorities had “learned” from mistakes made during the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in May 2022, when police failed to protect spectators from gangs who sprayed tear gas at fans and attacked and robbed them at knifepoint.
The State Department’s travel advisory for France is set at level 2 out of 4, meaning “exercise increased caution” due to possible threats of terrorism and civil unrest.
A second US security official stressed that ensuring security for the Olympics was France’s responsibility, saying: “What if there’s a cyber attack? What if there’s a stabbing on the subway? France has a plan.”
French security officials believe that Russia’s support for Ukraine could lead to cyberattacks by Russian-linked forces that could affect public transport, energy and even banking services, but what happens online could be harder to police.
Andrew Obadyal, chief information security officer at cybersecurity firm Cobalt, said major events like the Olympics are a “prime target” for social media-fueled misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes.
Obadiah said information found on social media by Olympic participants could lead them to believe the games had been cancelled, for example, and AI could also be used to completely change what athletes are supposed to be saying.
“Don’t always take anything posted on your social feed at face value,” he warned. “Especially if it seems important. Don’t react right away. Be skeptical.”
AI: Security friend or foe?
Still, Shauna Hoffman, an AI expert at Guardrail Technologies, which helps companies, governments and police manage their use of AI, believes France should do more to harness the technology’s potential. The problem, she says, isn’t facial recognition but a lack of safeguards.
Hoffman said that, for example, U.S. border patrol programs take photos that are then quickly deleted, and Paris’ AI cameras could be set to do the same.
“What if facial recognition technology could spot people on terrorist watch lists and stop major bombings?” she says. “They’re trying to control the technology, not the outcome.”
Zagrodzki, the security expert, said there was at least one “good thing” about the security situation in Paris: “Olympic spectators are not a nuisance,” he said.
“This is not a soccer match between Serbia and England,” he said, referring to the two countries known for hooliganism by their fans. “The crowd is docile. It’s families. It’s people who want to see Paris. I can’t imagine that fans of Olympic weightlifting in Bulgaria are going to pick a fight with fans of the same sport in Kazakhstan.”
