PARIS — With two days left to go before the 2024 Summer Olympics start in Paris, French security services are on high alert.
A 40-year-old Russian-born man was arrested and placed in custody on Tuesday, suspected of having colluded with a foreign powers “to stir up hostility in France” — a charge that can carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years — the Paris prosecutor’s office told POLITICO, confirming a previous report from Le Parisien.
A search of the individual’s home apparently led authorities to discover evidence which “allowed them to fear” that the suspect was “planning to organize events that could lead to destabilization during the Olympic Games,” the prosecutor’s office added.
In the run-up to the Games, French authorities completed around a million background checks on a broad range of people including athletes, volunteers and recruited personnel. Some 4,340 people were barred access to the Games — among whom less than a hundred were suspected of acting as foreign agents.
Russian athletes will be able to take part in the Games; however, only under strict conditions, competing as neutral rather than under their country’s colors. They also need to undergo a vetting procedure to ensure that they do not support the invasion of Ukraine or have ties with the military.
Moscow was accused of leading a hybrid destabilization campaign in response to this decision, targeting France and the Olympics through mass disinformation. Russia denied the allegations, which it described as “Russophobic.”
“We are here to ensure that … sports are not used for espionage, cyberattacks or to criticize — and sometimes even lie about — France and the French,” outgoing Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told reporters on Tuesday.
Though not anticipating any direct attack from Russia, the French Interior Ministry remains cautious about potential individual acts.
With cybersecurity, disinformation and terror-related threats weighing on the Paris Games, a heavy security apparatus has been set up across the city — including a network of roadblocks across the capital.
The Paris Games will kick off on Friday with a boat show along the Seine in the heart of the French capital — the first-ever opening ceremony outside of a stadium.
“All necessary security checks have been made,” President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday, brushing off any possibility of a last-minute venue change for the open-air ceremonies.
Giorgio Leali contributed reporting.
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