France slashes Olympics opening ceremony crowd size amid terror attack fears

PARIS — France has scaled down the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony which will take place in July on the River Seine, amid concerns over a theoretical Islamist terror attack.

Boats carrying each nation’s flag-bearers will pass on the water in the heart of Paris, with 104,000 spectators enjoying the celebration on the waterfront and 222,000 others watching from bridges and streets, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Tuesday during a Parliament hearing.

That’s roughly half the number of spectators initially floated by Darmanin, who had discussed in October 2022 the possibility of welcoming 600,000 people for the official launch of the Summer Games.

A senior official at the interior ministry, who was granted anonymity to disclose sensitive information, said French President Emmanuel Macron demanded the capacity reduction, prompted by crowd-control and security worries as the opening ceremony takes place in a public space rather than stadium for the first time ever.

The top official said French intelligence services had not currently identified plans for terror attacks specifically targeting the Games, but added, “the main threat is Islamist terrorism.”

The interior ministry has identified that groups with operational centers outside France are targeting the country, but do not have the financial capacity to do so for the time being, the official said, listing al Qaeda and ISIS as examples.

Tickets to access the waterfront have been put on sale by the Paris 2024 Games’ organization, with some costing thousands of euros. Cheaper tickets were initially expected to be put on sale for the general public but will now only be distributed directly by the Games’ partners for free, including to people from other French host towns and other public institutions.

Access to the ceremony’s security perimeter, which covers a significant part of the center of Paris, will be closed off days ahead of the ceremony and limited to ticket-holders and people living or working in the area who will be sent QR codes to enter.