Sunday, February 16, 2025

Is France Safe?

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What is happening?

France is the host nation for the largest athletic event of the year, the “Ile-de-France” Summer Olympics. Millions of spectators and visitors are anticipated in Paris, together with thousands of athletes from 206 Nations.

France is facing a challenging period, with threats such as protests, terrorism, and cyberattacks.

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The organizers took unprecedented security precautions in response to these increased threats, which included sending out a record number of security officers. During the four-week Olympics, about 30,000 police officers—and as many as 45,000 at peak—will be on duty. In addition, there are 10,000 military and 1800 international police officers.

The opening ceremony is on Friday, July 20th, but the Paris Olympics 2024 is already being considered one of the riskiest in history. Let’s examine how France managed the week leading up to the Olympics.

France

Incident 1

  • The Football tournament’s first day was the most recent event that sparked a lot of criticism. Wherein Morocco defeated Argentina 2-1 in a controversial match. The outcome only partially reflects the dramatic conclusion to the Saint-Etienne match, which had to be postponed for almost two hours due to enraged Moroccan supporters who stormed onto the field and hurled bottles and firecrackers from the stands in protest of Argentina’s late goal in the 16th minute of added time.
    The footage captures the beginning of the chaos and shows a firework going off extremely near the Argentinian player.

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    To know more about this incident you can read Paris Olympics Start With A ‘Peaceful’ Bang! – By Shruti Dasgupta.

Incident 2 

On July 20th, only six days out from the Paris Summer Olympics, despite all the security. According to the Daily Mail, a 25-year-old lady reported to police that “five men of African appearance” had sexually assaulted her on Saturday close to the Moulin Rouge. The distraught woman, who was described as “disoriented and unable to speak a word of French,” sought assistance in a neighboring kebab restaurant following the incident. She was wearing her dress “inside out,” and she was holding her underwear. The woman was scheduled to return to Australia the next day after attending the Fete de Musique music festival in Paris. She remained in Paris to assist the police while they investigated security camera footage.

In the video a local claims that “What happened to her, happens a lot of time in France, every day“.
Here is the CCTV footage, Source 7 News

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  • Incident 3

A student peacekeeper assigned to Paris as part of the Games was sexually assaulted on a train in the middle of the afternoon according to Remix News.

  • Incident 4

    Then within 48 hours of the first incident, Channel Nine said two of its Olympics staffers were attacked during an attempted robbery in Paris. Newspapers reported that the pair were walking to their accommodation in the municipality of Le Bourget, north-east of Paris. Late on Monday afternoon, Paris time. When a group of people attempted to snatch one of their backpacks.

Photo of chief with spectacles
Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares has warned athletes to be vigilant when traveling around Paris and Olympic athletes have been encouraged not to wear uniforms if they travel outside the Olympic Village. (Getty Images: Brendon Thorne) 
  • Incident 5

    A migrant from Senegal was shot and killed. An assailant was turned away after attempting to enter a Louis Vuitton store in the opulent Champs-Elysée neighborhood of Paris. According to the interior minister, he stabbed a policeman who had been sent to protect the store while brandishing a knife.
    Report.

  • Incident 6

Even though Right-leaning parties prevailed after the first round of the recent French elections, the Left unleashed riots. In the second phase, the Left-wing parties emerged victorious, with Macron’s Center party and the Right trailing behind. This resulted in much more rioting. The Left continued to riot after winning a partial majority but falling short of a complete majority. Concerns about authoritarianism arise if the Left riots anytime their demands aren’t satisfied. Will people who oppose the Left find safety in France?

  • France after Phase One of the Election

  • France after Phase Two of the Election

Rising Safety Concerns for France

These six instances are only a handful of the prominent and publicized ones. This begs the question: How did so many events happen in a country that takes pride in being among the most secular and liberal, during a week when security was supposed to be at its highest?

It is anticipated that the situation will only get worse due to the uncontrolled migration influx, which includes numerous criminals.

 

Then with all this happening the logical question to ask is:

Is France safe?

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