UPDATE (JULY 26, 2024, 11:15 a.m. ET): French officials say a “massive attack” on part of France’s high-speed rail network disrupted service for hundreds of thousands of passengers Friday morning but that the attack has had no direct impact on the Olympic Games themselves other than inconveniencing rail passengers.
As America continues to process the shocking act of political violence that was the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there’s another pressing security concern 4,000 miles away. The 2024 Summer Olympics begin in Paris on Friday and run through Aug. 11. Securing a Trump rally on a field in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a couple of hours proved to be a fatal failure, and the challenge of the Olympic Games makes Butler pale in comparison. The threat in Paris has already manifested in the form of arrests and disruptions, and the Games haven’t even started.
The threat in Paris has already manifested in the form of arrests and disruptions, and the Games haven’t even started.
During my FBI career and subsequent corporate security stint, I led or supported security plans for five Olympics. The Games play out on a global stage. An expected 15 million visitors are expected in France’s capital, including 2 million from outside the country. More than 10,000 competitors from 206 countries, including almost 600 U.S. athletes, will be there, and there will be billions of viewers watching on television and streaming platforms. The Olympics are supposed to transcend politics and bring the world together through peaceful competition, if only for a couple of weeks. But that large a bull’s-eye, with so much of the world paying attention, makes for an almost irresistible target for those whose causes are antithetical to peace.
On July 17, French anti-terror police arrested a suspected neo-Nazi who allegedly planned to attack the Olympic torch relay. Prosecutors said the suspect runs a group called “French Aryan division” on the Telegram social media platform and was being questioned over death threats, hate speech and other postings.
In May, French authorities disrupted a reportedly “Islamist-inspired” plot to attack Olympic soccer matches at the Paris Games. Police arrested an 18-year-old ethnic Chechen when they discovered the man exchanged encrypted messages with “known Islamists” and found photos and videos of the soccer stadium on his phone and computer. Prosecutors said the suspect intended to target spectators and police at Paris’ primary stadium.
Paris is now on lockdown. Terrorism of all shades will be the primary security threat to the Games. The threat poses such a concern that the number of planned spectators allowed to watch the Olympic torch relay along the Seine during the opening ceremony was reduced in half, from 600,000 to 300,000. French authorities have already banned 4,000 people from even getting near the Olympic sites based on the potential threats they pose.
The global threat level is already quite high in part because of the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Paris Games will only serve to heighten the threat level. Specific delegations to Paris will pose a greater security challenge in addition to the overall security plan.
The global threat level is already quite high in part because of the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
For example, the International Olympic Committee has banned Russia from being represented at these Games, but that doesn’t mean Russian athletes won’t participate. Only 15 Russian participants will be permitted and they’ll be identified as Individual Neutral Athletes. Russia is not happy with this decision and has been trying to keep people from attending the Games by stoking fears of a terror attack. There’s talk of a Russian cyberattack in Paris. The presence of 140 Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics further heightens the tensions and the threat picture in terms of Russia. Some of Russia’s athletes attending the Games are accused of violating the rules precluding them from supporting their nation’s war against Ukraine.
Israeli athletes in Paris may make a particularly troubling target for terrorists, and will be protected by their own nation’s security agency, Shin Bet, even as they mix with and potentially compete against Palestinian athletes.
As we cheer for our U.S. athletes over the course of the Games, let’s also root for a peaceful and safe Olympics. Regardless of which country wins the most events, I’m hoping that the French security services earn a gold medal, and that any would-be terrorists go home feeling defeated and disappointed.