Paris Olympics: Emmanuel Macron says opening ceremony could be moved over security fears

The Paris organisers have devised a ceremony that is unprecedented in Olympic history but all that could change if there is a serious risk of terror attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron said for the first time that the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony could move from the river Seine to the national stadium in the event of a security threat.

Mr Macron said instead of teams sailing down the Seine on barges, the ceremony could be “limited to the Trocadero” building across the river from the Eiffel Tower or “even moved to the Stade de France”.

The Paris organisers have devised a ceremony that is unprecedented in Olympic history as it breaks from the tradition of the Games opening in the main stadium.

The plans would see as many as 10,000 athletes sailing along a six-kilometre stretch of the Seine in around 160 barges, before gathering at the Trocadero for a ceremony.

But with war raging in Ukraine and in Gaza, the ceremony also leaves teams potentially vulnerable to attack - French authorities have, for example, mentioned the possibility of an attack launched by drones.

France's President Emmanuel Macron (C), flanked by France's Minister for Culture Rachida Dati (L), President of Le Grand Palais Didier Fusillier (R) and French former Culture minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin (2L), walks during a visit at Le Grand Palais, which will host the fencing and taekwondo competition events during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Picture: AFP

So far, organisers have denied the ceremony on July 26 could be moved to a different venue if authorities believe there is a possibility it will be targeted.

“This opening ceremony ... is a world first. We can do it and we are going to do it,” Macron said in an interview with BFMTV and RMC.

“We have put in place a security cordon which is going to be very big, where we are going to check all the people coming in and going out,” Mr Macron said.

But, he added, “there are Plan Bs and Plan Cs, we are preparing them in parallel... We will analyse this in real time”.

The backup plans include moving the ceremony to the Stade de France to the north of Paris, the main stadium for the Olympics where the rugby sevens and athletics will be held.

Moving the ceremony from the Seine would be a huge undertaking and would deprive the Paris Olympics of their defining image.

If the ceremony is moved to the Stade de France, it would be purely ceremonial without an artistic show, according to sources with knowledge of the arrangements.

More than 300,000 spectators are expected to be present for the ceremony, with another 200,000 watching from buildings along the Seine.

A view of the Eiffel Tower and River Seine in central Paris. Picture: AFP

So far, all countries have said they plan to take part in the open-air river parade, including the most risk-averse such as the United States and Israel.

Mr Macron also said he “wanted to do everything possible to have an Olympic truce” for the Paris Games despite war raging in Ukraine and elsewhere.

“We want to work towards an Olympic truce and I think it is an occasion for me to engage with a lot of our partners,” he said.

The truce is a historic tradition that peace reigns during the Olympics.

It comes after Iran launched its first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory late on Saturday in retaliation for a deadly April 1 air strike on Tehran’s consulate building in Syria’s capital Damascus that was widely blamed on Israel.

French jets helped repel an Iranian violation of Jordan’s air space, Mr Macron said.

“For several years now we have had an air base in Jordan to fight terrorism,” he said.

“Jordanian airspace was violated … We made our planes take off and we intercepted what we had to intercept.”

Experts say Israel was able to neutralise most of the missiles and drones. Iran launched over 100 medium-range ballistic missiles, more than 30 land-attack cruise missiles and over 150 attack drones at Israel, a senior US military official said.

US forces also helped, destroying “more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen,” US Central Command said on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne on Sunday said he had asked the foreign ministry to summon the Iranian ambassador on Monday to express a “message of firmness”.

Originally published as Paris Olympics: Emmanuel Macron says opening ceremony could be moved over security fears