Security Update: 2024 Olympic Games Paris, France

Security Update: 2024 Olympic Games Paris, France

By Intelligence Analyst, Mare Cunningham

Overview and Security Posture

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games present a high-value target for a variety of threat actors seeking to undermine the event through actions ranging from disruptive protests, cyberattacks, and even physical attacks. The Games will attract approximately 3 million visitors, athletes from over 200 countries, hundreds of media outlets, and international corporate sponsors. While French authorities are planning to deploy tens of thousands of additional security personnel to protect the games, unwanted incidents are still very likely. This report outlines the most likely threats to occur and how they could impact attendees of the Games.

The Games are set to commence on July 24, 2024, with the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024, and will continue until August 11, 2024. Events will take place at 41 different venues—mostly in the Paris metropolitan area but ranging across the country to include Marseille in the south and even the overseas territory of French Polynesia. This report will focus specifically on Paris and provide essential information for travelers on political and social unrest, extremist threats, cyber threats from pro-Russian actors, crime, and transportation threats, as well as useful resources for those attending Olympic events.

Political & Social Unrest

Protests are anticipated during the Games—both authorized and unauthorized—involving political activists, pro-Palestinian supporters, and environmental groups. While competition venues are not directly adjacent to major protest sites like Place de la Nation, Place de la Bastille, and Place de la Republique, many are located in central city areas. This proximity increases the likelihood that protests could intentionally or inadvertently impact Olympic travelers.

France has recently experienced nationwide protests due to parliamentary elections, significantly impacting Paris and other major cities. Violent clashes between protesters and police broke out on June 30 and July 7 in Paris when thousands of left-wing rioters gathered at the Place de la Republique. During these riots, left-wing activists smashed storefront windows, set off fireworks, vandalized monuments, and created large bonfires in public squares. Police responded with tear gas as confrontations with flare-carrying rioters ensued. Further election-related demonstrations in France’s major cities are still possible but are now less likely since the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) won the parliamentary elections. While counter-protests from the right-wing RN party cannot be ruled out, TorchStone is not aware of any planned rallies.

 

While political unrest will likely subside in the lead-up to the Olympics, pro-Palestine protests remain active and have now merged with ongoing political protests. The Yellow Vest movement maintains its momentum with weekly anti-government marches in Paris.

Although climate activists are less prominent in Paris than in other European cities, their actions still cause significant disruptions. Recently, Extinction Rebellion organized a campaign in late May targeting the TotalEnergies Shareholders’ Meeting, where protesters harassed attendees and disrupted proceedings in Paris.

The Paris chapter of Extinction Rebellion has announced a mass disruptive campaign planned for July 27, aimed at opposing the Olympic Games. While the location is undisclosed, organizers intend to mobilize participants through Signal, text messages, and email. The timing of this campaign coincides with the first gold medal event of the 2024 Paris Olympics, likely chosen to maximize international exposure for their grievances and could also be joined by other activists such as Attac France.

Additionally, Le Revers de la Médaille (“The Other Side of the Medal”) aims to urge the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, elected officials, public authorities, sponsors, and partners to acknowledge the socioeconomic challenges Paris faces, such as homelessness and the plight of exiled individuals, during the Games. Other anti-Olympics groups, including Saccage 2024 and Revolte Olympique, have also announced their plans to conduct disruptive protest actions during the event.

Extremist Terrorist Threat

French law enforcement remains vigilant about the threat of domestic terrorism ahead of the Paris Olympics, particularly from individuals inspired by or affiliated with the Islamic State and other jihadist groups. Terrorists may strike with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.

In response to the ISIS-K concert attack in Moscow on March 24, 2024, France has elevated its national alert system to its highest level. As of July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a Level 2 advisory calling for travelers to exercise increased caution when traveling to France due to risk of terrorism and civil unrest.

Recent high-profile incidents include:

• On May 22, 2024, the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) arrested a Chechen national reportedly in contact with ISIS-K, who had conducted pre-operational planning and target selection against the Saint-Etienne soccer stadium in Lyon. France’s Interior Ministry claimed that this was “the first foiled attack against the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 50th attack foiled by our intelligence services since 2017.”
• On May 21, 2024, a 26-year-old male, a known sympathizer of the “incel” movement, was arrested in Eysines, just outside Bordeaux. Authorities acted after detecting concerning social media posts in which Alex G. referenced a 2014 mass shooting in California. Media reports have linked his arrest to a potential attack on the torch relay in Bordeaux on May 23.
• April 23, 2024, a 16-year-old male was arrested after expressing on social media (Telegram) his desire to create an explosive belt and die as a martyr at the Paris Olympics, specifically targeting the La Defense business district. Investigations did not uncover an advanced plan, and the minor was placed under judicial supervision. specifically targeting the La Defense business district. Investigations did not uncover an advanced plan, and the minor was placed under judicial supervision.

At the present time TorchStone believes the terrorism threat in France stems largely from lone attackers and small cells who do not possess sophisticated terrorist tradecraft and are not professional terrorist cadres. This means that these unsophisticated actors will tend to attack soft targets using simple attack plans involving readily available weapons. The most likely attacks are vehicular assaults or knife and gun attacks against crowds of people on the street. Attacks using small bombs are also possible. Because of this, people walking on the street should practice heightened situational awareness and avoid loitering in vulnerable crowds. People should also be prepared to quickly take action to get away from an assailant in the event of an attack.

Russian Sabotage

Russia has been attempting to disrupt the Olympics and associated organizations since at least 2018 due to a decade-long doping scandal. In addition to Moscow’s grievances against the International Olympic Committee over doping-related disqualification, tensions between Russia and NATO (and France in particular) make the 2024 Paris Olympics a likely target for Russian hybrid warfare tactics. Given Moscow’s ongoing grievances concerning anti-doping rulings and NATO’s support for Ukraine, it has ample reasons to disrupt the Olympics through everything from misinformation campaigns to cyberattacks, sabotage, and possibly even physical attacks.

European leaders have warned of Russian-backed attempts to sabotage and attack infrastructure since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, recent incidents in European cities, including Paris, suggest that pro-Russian saboteurs could also target civilian and commercial areas. French authorities arrested a Russian-Ukrainian man on June 3 after he detonated an explosion in his hotel room in northern Paris. Authorities believe that the bomb was intended to target a hardware store in a commercial zone of northern Paris. The attempted bombing came amidst a series of threats from Moscow in response to France’s president suggesting that he may send military advisers to assist Ukraine’s war against Russia.

There were multiple suspicious incidents in Europe linked to pro-Russian sabotage around the same time. There were arson attacks and attempts in Prague, Warsaw, and Vilnius within a month of the Paris incident. Local leaders blamed Moscow for being behind those attacks.

In addition to Moscow’s hostilities towards NATO members over the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russian authorities have long targeted the Olympic games and associated organizations over a decade-long doping scandal. In 2018, Russian-backed hackers appear to have been behind an attack on telecommunications networks that disrupted the broadcast of the opening ceremony in South Korea.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in April that Russian misinformation campaigns are targeting the 2024 Paris Olympics on a daily basis as part of a coordinated effort to undermine the success of the games.

Crime

The U.S. Department of State has assessed Paris as a medium-threat location for crime affecting U.S. government interests. While violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault are relatively uncommon, street crime remains a persistent issue, particularly in tourist areas. Based on 2024 from the French Ministry of the Interior, most crimes decreased in the last quarter (April to June) compared to the previous quarter (January to March). Armed robberies saw the largest drop at 9%, while theft of vehicle accessories rose by 8%, and homicides remained nearly stable. Olympic travelers are now able to access the newly launched updated version of its public safety website, “Ma Sécurité” (My Security) from the Ministry of the Interior. This platform provides users with general safety information, including details on police stations and a 24/7 chat service.

Pickpocketing remains the most common issue faced by visitors, with thieves targeting purses, wallets, smartphones, and small electronics. This problem is prevalent in crowded venues and on public transportation, especially in tourist hotspots. Crimes against visitors are typically crimes of opportunity, although they are more likely to involve violence late at night or if the victim resists. We recommend not resisting economic crime, especially when the assailant is armed. TorchStone encourages all travelers to remain aware of their surroundings, particularly as they leave the hotel and to proactively avoid potential threats.

Transportation Threats

There will be significant travel disruptions in parts of central Paris through late September, particularly near competition zones that started as early as March, as authorities prepared venues. These zones include areas around the Jardins du Trocadéro and the Tour Eiffel, leading to traffic restrictions, metro station closures, and changes to the bus network. Road closures and other security measures will be implemented around the Stade de France, Jardins du Trocadéro, and the Seine River. These disruptions will be especially pronounced during the opening ceremony on July 26 and on race days, August 3-4 and 8-9. Attendees are encouraged to download the mobile app, Transport Public Paris 2024 to plan public transportation travel and avoid disruptions. Changes to the bus network related to the Games can be found on the RATP website.

Also, there is a potential for industrial action by labor unions prompting travel disruptions. For example, unionized airport staff employed by Groupe ADP, the operator of Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, and Paris Le Bourget airports, are planning a strike on July 17. If the strike goes ahead, air travel disruptions are expected at all three airports on July 17. There are no known rail strikes at this time; however, there is a possibility that unions could file strike notices using the Games as leverage to meet their demands.

Additionally, traffic bans and restrictions will be implemented around competition sites, organized into four color-coded perimeters, each with specific rules. Transport officials created an interactive map detailing these perimeters for each day of competition  Access to these areas will require a Games Pass QR code, which must be requested in advance via the online platform. Entry will be permitted only for residents, professionals, and visitors with proof of a hotel, museum, ticket, or restaurant reservation. Vehicle access will be strictly limited, except in rare cases. Officials strongly recommend that both residents and tourists review the revised routes and plan their travel accordingly.

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Emergency Contacts & Resources

Embassy Contacts

• S. Embassy, Paris
  • 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris, France
  • Emergency Contact Phone Number: 01.43.12.22.22 [then dial 9 after automated greeting]
  • S. Embassy France Twitter Handle: @USEmbassyFrance

Emergency Services

• General Emergency Services: Dial 112, if you have difficulty speaking or hearing, send a text message to 114
• Medical Service: Dial 15
• Police: Dial 17
• Fire Service: Dial 18

Prefecture of Police of Paris

• General website: https://www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr/

Paris 2024 Olympics

• General website: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024
• Direct link to maps for the Olympic Games: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/games-map