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July 13, 2024 - 2:00pm
In a couple of weeks, an estimated 15 million tourists will visit Paris for the upcoming Olympic Games. Around 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will compete for sporting glory. But there are growing security concerns over the threat posed by Islamist extremists due to a massive surge in recent days of Islamic State (IS) propaganda about attacking stadiums.
Not only that, a worrying increase in the number of terrorist plots foiled by the French security services has prompted the country to bolster police and military presence in major cities. At least 45,000 security forces personnel and around 40,000 police officers and gendarmes will be providing security at the games. France has even requested anti-air systems from Greece due to Isis urging its fighters and supporters to use drones.
Paris is a city haunted by the memory of terror attacks. In January 2015, Islamists attacked the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people including editor Stéphane (“Charb”) Charbonnier. This was followed by several attacks over the next 48 hours killing six people. On 13 November 2015, at least 130 people were killed and more than 350 were injured in a string of Islamist attacks, notably at the Stade de France and the Bataclan theatre.
As the Olympics is a truly global event, it is no surprise that it would be a target. Experts worry specifically about Isis-K, the splinter branch that carried out the Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow back in March which killed 145 people. Soon after this attack, Isis-K circulated an image reading: “After Moscow… Who is next?” and listed Paris, Rome, Madrid, and London as possible targets. This is significant as Isis-K has carried out all three of IS’s external operations in 2024, which tend to produce much higher casualty counts. Specifically, pro-IS media outlets have urged Islamists to strike Olympic events and crowds with drones, knives, guns, explosives, and molotov cocktails.
After the Moscow attack, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that Isis-K had attempted two attacks on French soil in previous months. Just a few days ago, French police thwarted a double suicide bomb plot targeting the games. Earlier, in May, a jihadist communicating with IS was apprehended in Saint-Étienne for plotting an attack during a football match at the games. The terrorist said he wanted to murder innocent spectators and then “die and become a martyr”. This sentiment was echoed by a 16-year-old extremist who posted on social media that he wanted to detonate an explosive belt at the Paris games and “die a martyr”.
France has been a priority target of Isis since the group’s foundation in 2013. In September 2014, IS Spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani placed the country as a top target on a par with America, saying: “America, France, and their allies transgressed against us.” He went on: “If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and dirty French — kill him in any manner or way.” The organisation’s propaganda cites France’s colonial history and recent military activities against jihadists in Africa, its intervention in Iraq and Syria against IS, and various other French military operations targeting Islamic terror both domestically and internationally.
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