Paris Olympics 2024: French authorities foil plan to attack football events at summer games

The world is set to descend on the French capital to watch the biggest sports event on the globe. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has now confirmed that authorities have uncovered a plan to attack football events during the games.

He said that an 18-year-old man from Chechnya was arrested on May 22 in connection with a plan to target football matches in the city of Saint-Etienne, located southwest of Lyon. According to the initial investigation, he has been planning to target the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium.

Various matches are set to take place across various stadiums in France before the final is held at Paris’ Stade de France. The Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11.

The news comes after it was reported that the traditional Opening Ceremony could be scaled back due to “security fears”. For the first time in modern Olympic history, the Opening Ceremony is to take place outside of a stadium, with the famous flag procession take place on the River Seine instead.

Around 104,000 spectators will watch on from the waterfront, with an addition 222,000 people watching from city streets and bridges. This is almost half of the initial estimations of 600,000 spectators after organised scaled back plans.