By Andrew Warshaw
June 7 – As tension mounts ahead of Euro 2016, both on and off the pitch, Paris’ police chief promised he would be receiving thousands of reinforcements and that his force was as prepared as it could be to face the threat of terrorist activity.
France is still in a state of emergency following last November’s coordinated assaults that killed 130 people across the capital and Ukraine’s state security service revealed on Monday that a French citizen detained on the border with Poland had been planning attacks on Jewish and Muslim places of worship in France to coincide with Euros.
“Today we are as well prepared as we can be,” police chief Michel Cadot told a news conference, disclosing that 90,000 police, soldiers and private security agents will be deployed to ensure the safety of the month-long event.
Cadot said he would be receiving more than 3,000 additional security agents to support the planned 10,000-strong force. “To take on this heavy responsibility that is Euro 2016, we needed extra resources.”
Islamic State militants are reportedly threatening to unleash a campaign of bomb attacks, heightening concerns over the 1.5 million foreign fans who are expected for the 51 matches involving 24 teams at 10 stadiums across France.
There will also be fan zones for crowds watching on giant TV screens in all match cities, including at the Eiffel Tower, where up to 100,000 people are expected on match days. Security experts and police officials have said protecting those areas will be the biggest challenge.
“We are doing everything to avoid a terrorist attack, and we’re preparing to react to one,” said interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve
Stadium security is likely to include several layers of body searches and ID checks, as well as a high presence of uniformed and plain clothes police and soldiers. City centres, monuments, airports and transport will also be protected by police and military. But the main concern is the fan zones, theoretically an easy target for terrorism with such large groupings of fans.
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