France’s live events sector is set to be put on hold in the summer of 2024 as police and security resources are directed towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Government Minister Gérald Darmanin told public radio station France Inter that as many as 45,000 police officers would be required to keep Paris safe for up to three months around the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
While the Minister of the Interior and Overseas said that other events would not be cancelled by the Government, festivals, concerts and sporting events cannot expect to have security present. High-profile summer events such as the annual Avignon arts festival and Lollapalooza Paris could be at risk if organisers cannot rely upon security for a quarter of the year.
Darmanin said: “Police and gendarmerie resources will, that summer, be devoted not only to the safety of our fellow citizens in general, but to the Olympic Games. I want to repeat that having between 600,000 and 700,000 people in Paris for the opening ceremony with the terrorist crisis that we are experiencing, […] this requires a hyper presence of the police and the gendarmes.
“I will cancel the leave of the police and gendarmes between June and September. It is normal for everyone to make an effort. It’s not going to say that things can’t hold. This means that they will take place, if they take place, with fewer security forces than usual.”
The Olympic Games runs from July 26 to August 11 with the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.