Paris 2024 Olympics: faced with the terrorist threat, Macron says he wants to “take over the opening ceremony” on the Seine

Emmanuel Macron, ce jeudi matin lors de l'inauguration officielle du Centre aquatique olympique. MAXPPP – Gonzalo Fuentes/POOL

The Head of State indicated that fallback solutions existed. 

President Emmanuel Macron assured Thursday that the "privileged scenario" remained an opening ceremony of Olympic Games on the Seine despite the threat of attack.

"The preferred scenario, the one that we prepare, the one that we assume, the one that we want, it's obviously the one that was planned with all the organizers and whose details will be revealed in due course", declared the Head of State on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new aquatic center in Saint-Denis.

Take responsibility for the opening ceremony

"We must take responsibility for this opening ceremony", insisted Emmanuel Macron, conceding that France was "for several years unfortunately under terrorist threat". "We will be ready", he added, recalling that the Vigipirate system had been raised after the attack in Moscow on March 22 claimed by the Islamic State.

If the threat were to evolve, if we considered that the circumstances required it, we have fallback scenarios

"We are preparing several scenarios (…), if the threat were to evolve, if we considered that the circumstances required it, we have fallback scenarios", he explained without detailing them. The president also assured that he had "no doubt" on the fact that Russia is targeting the Olympics in particular "in informational terms". "Force of soul, self-confidence, a relationship with the truth are the strength of democracies and great nations" , he added.