Security of the 2024 Olympic Games: parliamentarians denounce measures "typical of a state of emergency"

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: XOSE BOUZAS / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 18:55 p.m., November 29, 2023

Several parliamentarians took to the stage on Wednesday to express concern about the security measures for the 2024 Paris Olympics unveiled in the press by the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez, denouncing provisions "detrimental to freedoms", "typical of a state of emergency". "These provisions are typical of a state of emergency. To put in place such measures in a situation that is destined to be happy (...) is extremely curious," reacted centrist senator Philippe Bonnecarrère, calling on the government in the hemicycle at the opening of Wednesday's public session.

In the daily Le Parisien, Laurent Nuñez detailed several measures to secure four perimeters close to the competitions during the 2024 Summer Olympics in the capital, accompanied by varying degrees of restrictions, particularly for traffic. He mentions, for example, the need to register on a digital platform by providing proof of travel, with a QR code to be presented during the checks, or the need to declare your guests who would come to watch the opening ceremony from the windows of the Parisian apartments concerned.

Measures "detrimental to freedoms"

Centrist senator Nathalie Goulet singled out announcements made "without any prior consultation" on provisions "detrimental to freedoms". "The QR code requires at the very least data collection and storage. I hope the minister will be able to explain why." Questioned by journalists after a press conference on Wednesday devoted to the security perimeters of the 2024 Olympics, Laurent Nuñez justified this device by indicating that it was "allowed by law by a regulatory act taken by the Minister of the Interior".

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It can be "either an order or a decree (...) after the opinion of the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms, editor's note). Obviously, the system that I am going to propose and that will be submitted for consultation will be part of this legal framework," the prefect continued. According to Laurent Nuñez, the digital registration platform is a "powerful tool", better suited "than carrying out these checks at police checkpoints". "Otherwise, the truth is that we won't do them (...), the rule will be prohibition. It's much easier for law enforcement to block a perimeter than it is to control every vehicle."

"The Olympics have a good liberticidal taste"

Senator Loïc Hervé said he had referred the matter to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and the CNIL, which is responsible for the personal data of the French. "It's just mind-boggling. It's even worse than we feared. I am not aware of such restrictions and travel controls during previous editions of the Olympic Games," reacted on the X website (ex-Twitter) the Insoumise MP Eric Coquerel. "The Olympics have a good liberticidal taste," added his colleague Damien Maudet.

It's just mind-boggling. It's even worse than we feared. I am not aware of any such travel restrictions and controls during previous editions of the Olympic Games, even in countries that are not known to be democracies! https://t.co/Bcdfe5xfmR

— Eric Coquerel (@ericcoquerel) November 29, 2023

"We are run by madmen who confine citizens on demand. Let's come to reason!", thundered the deputy Debout la France Nicolas Dupont-Aignan. The Senate is due to hear Laurent Nuñez late Thursday afternoon, as part of a mission to monitor the application of the law on the security of the Olympics, adopted in mid-April by Parliament. "We would like to have visibility on all the measures," Agnès Canayer, co-rapporteur of the mission, who sits on the Republicans group, told AFP.