Emmanuel Macron assured on Thursday that hosting the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on the Seine remains the “preferred scenario”, despite threats of attacks and Russian fake news. On Thursday, the President of the Republic inaugurated the Saint-Denis Olympic Aquatics Center, which will host synchronized swimming, diving and water polo at the Paris Games. The tenant of the Elysée is launching a general “site review” just over a hundred days before the global meeting, which begins on July 26.
“The preferred scenario, the one we are preparing, the one we envisage, the one we want, is of course the one that has been planned with all the organizers and the details of which will be revealed in due course,” he said. he told reporters when asked about the launch ceremony, as the Vigipirate plan was just ramped up to its maximum level after the March 22 attack in Moscow claimed by the Islamic State group.
Site review
However, he admitted that France had been under the threat of terrorism for “several years”, but added that French authorities were preparing “back-up scenarios”. For the first time, Paris is planning an opening ceremony outside the stadium, which is therefore very difficult to secure. Athletes must take their place in boats that will travel down the Seine against the mythical backdrop of Parisian monuments.
As for the threats, Emmanuel Macron also said that he is sure that Russia is targeting the hosting of the Olympics, especially “informationally”, suggesting that France will not be ready for the event.
With just over 100 days until the opening, preparations are accelerating. On April 17, “we will be 100 days from the start of the Olympic Games. So, starting next week, the president has asked his ministers to be on the ground” to “do site inspections” to “make sure everything is in line” with the schedule, his entourage announced.