Drones, divers, dogs: the massive job of making Paris Olympics secure

A huge team of security staff is now on alert in Paris, in the final preparations to secure the city, less than one week before the Olympic Opening Ceremony kicks off more than a month of sport.

The team - led by the army - includes divers in the River Seine, sniffer dogs, and drone operators.

It comes ahead of the Opening Ceremony, which - because athletes will parade down the river itself - is set to look dramatically different from the typical stadium-only display.

More than 10,500 athletes will parade on 94 boats along a six-kilometre river route, departing from the Austerlitz bridge. The grand finale will be held in front of the Trocadéro. 

The event kicks off at 19:30, and a limited number of members of the public will be able to watch the parade along quays and grandstands set up on bridges.

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Divers

Divers have been checking the hulls and engines of the 180 boats set to take part in the river parade on July 26, including to ensure there are no explosives or other threats on board.

Checks have been taking place in the 3.5km-long stretch between the Nelson-Mandela bridge (Ivry-sur-Seine) and the Austerlitz bridge.

“Securing this area…is a short, intense and complex mission,” said one lieutenant-colonel to Le Point. 

Similarly, Master Corporal Cédric said that the divers have access to breathing cylinders, as well as a FROGS (Full Range Oxygen Gas System), which enables divers to stay underwater, invisible, to a depth of seven metres, for up to three hours.

Despite Mayor Anne Hidalgo proving that the river is clean when she went for a dip on July 17, conditions are still difficult, the officers said. Visibility is at just one metre in some areas, and there can be a strong current.

Read also: Photo: Paris mayor keeps her pledge and goes for a swim in Seine 

On the Seine itself, eight river engineering craft (embarcations fluviales du génie, EFG) will patrol the area and block access during the parade itself. These can reach incredible speeds of up to 70 km/h, can carry weapons, and up to 10 soldiers. 

Also on July 26, authorities will install an anti-intrusion barrier with an underwater net that can be rapidly deployed to the bottom of the river in the event of a threat.

Drones

On the banks of the river, soldiers from artillery regiments that specialise in drones are patrolling. Some are equipped with cameras with a 32x zoom to enable them to keep a very close eye on the river and its surroundings, within a 2km radius.

There are also anti-drone measures in the event of an attack on the day. These include the MILAD system (moyens interarmées de lutte anti-drones, joint anti-drone resources), and what are called ‘jammer’ guns. 

These send a ‘jamming cone’ over the area, which disables any drones inside it.

‘Friendly drones’ that fail to declare their presence in the area beforehand “will be neutralised”, a lieutenant said.

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Dogs

Patrolling soldiers are also being supported with trained dog teams. 

“We have two specialties with the dogs: assistance with human detection and neutralisation, and assistance with explosive search and detection,” said Staff Sergeant Sofiane, specialist in a canine regiment.

One example is Stimo, a three-year-old Malinois, who can be fitted with a steel-reinforced muzzle when unleashed on a threatening individual. “The impact is equivalent to a boxer punch,” said his handler.

Around 100 dog-and-handler pairs will be on alert to provide security at the Games. Each has scheduled shifts of one hour on and one hour off “to last the duration”, authorities said.