Route of the Rum. Security strengthened in Saint-Malo

The attacks of 2015 and 2016 have profoundly changed the approach of organizing major events in France. The Route du Rhum, whose village opens Wednesday in Saint-Malo, does not escape the rule.

"Given the national and international events, the whole country remains in reinforced Vigipirate," said Vincent Lagoguey, the sub-prefect of Saint-Malo. Saint-Malo and its ramparts, where hundreds of thousands of tourists flock every year, are already under heavy surveillance.

10,000 parking spaces

For the Route du Rhum, the city and its port, where is set up an ephemeral village of more than two kilometers along the docks, will be just as much. Especially since in 2014, it was estimated that 800,000 people had spent the port of Saint-Malo in ten days. Which amounts to multiplying the population of the city by 16!

One of the issues will be road safety. The weekend of October 27 and 28 and that of departure (November 3-4) are obviously the two points of tension expected. "Clearly, the best advice to give is to take the train that drops visitors 800 m from the port," says the sub-prefect. Even though 10,000 parking spaces have been set up with bus and shuttle connections.

Around the village, baffles have been installed to slow down traffic. And at the entrance of the village, "searches with palpation will be carried out.The goal is to ensure the safety of all."

On land and in the air

In order to achieve this goal, the state has not skimped on the means. For the ground part, reinforcements of gendarmerie, police and CRS were mobilized. "These are departmental, regional and even national resources with, for example, two sections of Operation Sentinel". Soldiers who will be present from October 24th.

"Under the authority of the Maritime Prefect, fifteen units of the Navy, Customs and Maritime Gendarmerie will be mobilized on the water on the day of departure" The airspace will not be forgotten with a helicopter of the Maritime Gendarmerie. Not to mention the drones. "The flight over Saint-Malo by drone is subject to authorization. ". PAF officers will be assigned to enforce the rules.