Paris Olympics 2024: Australian athletes cop clothing ban amid global security threat

Australia’s bid to turn Paris green and gold has been sunk after athletes were warned against wearing team uniforms outside the village amid increasing security threats.

Australia’s Olympic athletes have been warned against wearing team uniforms outside the village amid a heightened security threat and news an Australian tourist was gang-raped in the heart of the city just days before Paris’s opening ceremony changes the Games forever.

A ring of steel has been erected around the city and thousands of police and military personnel have been deployed to almost every street corner.

Historic landmarks and some 6km of the River Seine between Austerlitz Bridge and the Eiffel Tower have been locked down and increased security checks are creating lengthy delays for Parisians and tourists.

Despite the security, a 25-year-old Australian tourist was reportedly gang-raped just metres from Moulin Rouge on Saturday morning.

She was reportedly found in a stunned state, with her dress “backwards” and partially torn off, after stumbling into a kebab shop and claiming she’d been raped by five people of African appearance.

CCTV has captured the moment a Australian woman sought refuge inside a Paris kebab shop after being allegedly gang raped. Picture: Supplied

“It’s sad, she couldn’t stop crying. her dress was damaged,” the kebab shop owner said.

Another witness said incidents like the reported rape were common occurences in France.

“What happened to your citizen happens a lot of times in France every day,” he said.

“It is a bit crazy because there is not the secutiy that there used to be.”

Australian chef de mission Anna Meares sent sympathy to the woman over the “horrific” incident.

“We hope that she’s been cared for and supported in the trauma that she’s experienced,” she said.

French soldiers patrol the Eiffel Tower precinct ahead of the olympic Games. Picture: AFP

Meares revealed Australian athletes have been told to keep a low profile while walking Paris’s streets.

“We encouraged them if they go out of the village not to go out on their own not to wear teen uniform just to wear the plain clothes,” she said.

“It is based on the security advice that we’ve received and just ensuring the safety of our athletes.”

Meares insisted the advice was precautionary and backed organisers’ efforts to keep people safe.

“Information we’re passing on to our athletes is that security presence is really really high and that’s in order for them to be able to act as quickly as possible to keep them safe,” she said.

“We don’t yet have any feedback from our athletes that they have felt unsafe.

“We’ve got a huge contingency of family and friends coming… we just want to make sure that everyone stays safe and comes home safe.”

France’s ambitious plan to hold the opening ceremony on the River Seine - outside a stadium for the first time in modern Olympic history - has created a security nightmare for organisers.

Grandstands and viewing platforms line 6km of the river, where 10,500 athletes will wind through the centre of Paris to finish at the Trocadéro.

The police presence on the streets of Paris is immense as the Olympic Games prepare to launch. Picture: AFP

Reinforced vans packed with groups of specialist, heavily armed police - first deployed after the January 2015 terrorist attacks - are littered across the city and police officers patrol in pairs or groups of at least six.

Despite the threat, the spectacle and addition of family and friends at an Olympic Games for the first time since Rio de Janeiro in 2016 has created a buzz among athletes.

Freestyle BMX rider Natalya Diehm said it “means a lot to me to be here and I’m very excited”.

Australia’s Olympic village will swell by 60 athletes to about 270 ahead of nearing capacity on August 3 with 390 athletes.

Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Australian athletes cop clothing ban amid global security threat