RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT
SHOWS: PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - DECEMBER 13, 2023) (REUTERS - Access all)
1. POLICE WALKING ON IENA BRIDGE WITH EIFFEL TOWER IN BACKGROUND
2. EIFFEL TOWER
3. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS STANDING GUARD ON TROCADERO SQUARE, EIFFEL TOWER IN DISTANCE
PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 22, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)
4. FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER, GERALD DARMANIN, ARRIVING FOR PRESS CONFERENCE
5. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER, GERALD DARMANIN, SAYING:
"The terrorist threat but also that of protests is obviously extremely high due to the events, and I will come back to this, that we are experiencing on a geopolitical and national level, due to events that are themselves exceptional since the torch relay is the preamble to a particularly high-profile Games, and is therefore the subject of special attention and preparation by the Ministry of the Interior, all internal security forces and the DGSI (General Directorate for Internal Security)."
6. FRENCH DEPARTMENT OF BOUCHES-DU-RHONE POLICE PREFECT, FREDERIQUE CAMILLERI, DARMANIN AND PARIS POLICE PREFECT, LAURENT NUNEZ, ON STAGE
7. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER, GERALD DARMANIN, SAYING:
"We obviously have raised our level of attention and the level of jihadist threat on the national territory. Whether exogenous or endogenous, will obviously be very important until the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Concerning the protests, there are several, they take various forms. The Olympic and Paralympic torch relays are mainly likely to be the subject of disruptive actions emanating from organisations which use them as a platform to unite protests. Opposition to the relay is based on several axes of demands. First, undoubtedly the most important, as is the case for the Tour de France for example, are protests from ultra-left environmentalists, which is the most significant (form of opposition)."
PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - DECEMBER 4, 2023) (REUTERS - Access all)
8. VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN CARRYING DEVICE TO OPERATION SITE WHERE SUSPICIOUS BAG IS GOING TO BE CLEARED
9. VARIOUS OF POLICEMAN SETTING UP DEVICE THAT WILL EXPLODE SUSPICIOUS BAG
10. DOG SQUAD ENTERING OPERATION SITE
11. POLICE DOG AT OPERATION SITE
PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 22, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)
12. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER, GERALD DARMANIN, SAYING:
"Regarding the screenings, nearly 12,000 identities were submitted for investigation to the Ministry of the Interior. 10,000 Olympic torchbearers, 1,000 Paralympic torchbearers and 1,000 replacements have been screened at this stage. These screenings took place and resulted in 13 incompatibility opinions, a very reduced rate of 0.10 percent."
MARSEILLE, FRANCE (FILE - JUNE 19, 2022) (REUTERS - Access all)
13. PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES IN MARSEILLE'S OLD PORT
14. NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-GARDE BASILICA IN DISTANCE
15. BOAT LEAVING PORT
MARSEILLE, FRANCE (FILE - SEPTEMBER 23, 2023) (REUTERS - Access all)
16. SUN RISING OVER MARSEILLE PORT
17. WATER IN PORT
PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 22, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)
18. DARMANIN AND PREFECTS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE
19. CAMILLERI WALKING TO PULPIT
20. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH DEPARTMENT OF BOUCHES-DU-RHONE POLICE PREFECT, FREDERIQUE CAMILLERI, SAYING:
"We are going to cordon off the entire basin of the old port of Marseille with a perimeter which allows us to regulate access with systematic filtering inspections for people who want to attend this event. There will obviously be means of demining both on land and at sea, since we must also demine the pontoons, the landing stages and the basin of the Old Port. A large number of police officers will be mobilized on this occasion to ensure the tightness of this security perimeter, but also to ensure dynamic protection. In the crowd, there will be personnel in uniform and in civilian clothes, and we plan to mobilize up to 5,000 police officers for this."
21. JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION AS DARMANIN AND PREFECTS LISTEN
22. (SOUNDBITE) (French) PARIS POLICE PREFECT, LAURENT NUNEZ, SAYING:
"We have 18,000 personnel who are mobilized during this period since the police reinforcements and the mobilization of the police headquarters will be ramped up during this period, July 14 and 15, just over 10 days away from the Games, so, we will really have a large police force with a presence to fight against delinquency and to secure, throughout the capital and throughout (the) Ile-de-France (region)."
23. DARMANIN LEAVING PRESS CONFERENCE
STORY: French police will be on high alert for threats along the route of the 2024 Olympic torch relay, the interior minister said on Monday (January 22), with torchbearers protected by about 100 officers in a security bubble and anti-drone measures in place.
The Olympic flame will arrive in Marseille from Greece on May 8, with up to 150,000 people expected to attend the ceremony in the southern city's Old Port before the French leg of the relay begins.
Speaking at a press conference, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the "terrorist and protest threat" to the relay was significant, citing "far left environmental activists" or "radical Islamists" as potential sources of such threats.
The flame will be lit on April 16 in a ceremony at Greece's ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Games.
An actress playing a high priestess lights the torch for every Games - summer or winter - using a parabolic mirror before passing the flame to the first torchbearer at the edge of the ancient Olympic stadium.
The torch will remain in Greece for about a week for a short relay before being handed over to host city Paris and its departure for France.
Paris organisers have said they will use a three-masted ship, the "Belem", to take it to the port city of Marseille, where the Olympic sailing competitions will also take place.
Some 18,000 police officers will be on duty in Paris when the torch goes through the city on July 14 and 15, and on July 26, when the opening ceremony takes place.
About 5,000 police will be on the ground in Marseille when the torch arrives.
The interior ministry has been at odds with police officers, who have been asking for a 2,000-euro Olympic bonus and better working conditions.
Darmanin said the discussions with police unions were "ongoing", confirming the ministry was offering a bonus of 1,000 to 1,500 euros.
(Production: Manuel Ausloos)
