The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, explained this Wednesday that four projects of violent actions that were preparing for the Olympic Games that are going to be held from July 26 to August 11 have been disrupted for the moment.
In an interview with the BFMTV channel, Darmanin explained that the fourth case that is being investigated is that of an 18-year-old young man arrested on Tuesday in the department of Gironde (with capital in Bordeaux) who had "a project of violent action."
The minister confirmed, on the other hand, that the arrest announced yesterday of a Russian citizen who was being monitored by the French secret services is explained because they believe that "he was going to organize destabilization operations", "espionage", perhaps " manipulation of information.” He specified that this man had “recently” arrived in France.
He also attributed the dissemination of a video that circulates on social networks in which an appeal is made to a Russian destabilization operation. to the murder of Israeli athletes who are going to participate in the Paris Olympic Games.
Precisely, The safety of those 99 Israeli athletes is one of the great security challenges that your department has posed, and recalled that they will be permanently protected by two special forces of law enforcement, the Raid of the Police and the GIGN of the Gendarmerie.
“The Israeli team is particularly protected,” but it is not the only one, he pointed out before noting that it is also Special attention will be paid to delegations such as those of United States, Iran, the Palestinians or Ukraine.
The minister indicated that tonight there will be a thousand police officers in the security detail for the soccer match that the Israeli and Mali teams are going to play in the Parc des Princes in Paris, which will thus begin the competition before the ceremony. opening ceremony of the Games, which will be held on Friday afternoon.
During that ceremony, which is expected to be attended by more than 300.000 people, and which for the first time will be held outside a stadium, specifically on the stretch of the Seine River that runs through the center of Paris, 45.000 police and gendarmes are going to be mobilized.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article.