French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics planned on the River Seine could be shifted instead to the country's national stadium if the security threat is deemed too high.
France is on high security alert ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, which are expected to draw millions of visitors to the country.
Security concerns are notably high for the exceptional opening ceremony, which involves boats carrying athletes along the Seine on a 6-kilometre (3.7-mile) parade and huge crowds watching from the embankments.
Speaking to French media BFM-TV and RMC, Macron said France鈥檚 law enforcement forces will be mobilized at an exceptional level for the security of the open-air event.
鈥淏ut if we think there are risks, depending on our analysis of the context, we have fall-back scenarios," Macron said. 鈥淭here are plan Bs and plan Cs.鈥�
The July 26 event is set to be the first Olympic opening ceremony held outside a stadium setting. About 10,500 athletes will parade through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along the route ending in front of the Trocadéro.
To limit security risks, Macron said organizers could decide to shorten the itinerary of the parade on the Seine, and even to 鈥渞epatriate the ceremony to the Stade de France鈥� just outside Paris for a more conventional opening event. Macron did not give more details about the alternative plans.
Organizers had originally planned a grandiose opening ceremony for as many as 600,000 people, most watching free of charge from riverbanks. But security and logistical concerns have led the government to progressively scale back its ambitions. Earlier this year, the overall number of spectators was reduced to around 300,000.
The French government also decided that tourists won鈥檛 be given free access to watch the opening ceremony because of security concerns. Free access will be invitation-only instead.
Asked about the possibility of the opening ceremony being held in the stadium, Nicole Deal, the chief of security at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said: 鈥淔rom my point of view, I want the best experience for the athletes. Security is an underpinning and a foundation. We鈥檙e not the main show, so I want the best experience for Team USA athletes.鈥�
Macron insisted that, for now, plans for the opening ceremony remain the same.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a world first. We can do it and we will do it,鈥� the French President said.
France has repeatedly been hit by deadly Islamic State attacks, including the Bataclan theatre massacre in 2015 in which extremists opened fire on concert-goers and held hostages for hours. French troops have also fought against Islamic extremists in the Middle East and Africa.
Last month, the French government increased its security alert posture to the highest level after the deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State鈥檚 claim of responsibility.
Macron said that security perimeters will be installed 鈥渄ays, even weeks鈥� before the opening ceremony. He added that road traffic in the high-security zone will be brought to a standstill, and that French authorities will use "drone systems, coding, cyber protection,鈥� in their safeguarding efforts.
Answering to a viewer who expressed concerns about her son attending the opening ceremony, Macron said 鈥淚f there鈥檚 one place where your son will be safe, it鈥檚 here."
鈥淭here are always risks in life,鈥� he said. "And we see it every day, unfortunately. But we鈥檝e given ourselves the means to do it.鈥�
During the hour-long interview, Macron also said he wants "to do everything possible to have an Olympic truce鈥� for the Paris Games, amid a risk of an escalating conflict in the Middle East, Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine, now in its third year, and Sudan, hurtling towards a large-scale calamity of starvation and mass death after a year-long war.
The Olympic Truce is a modern revival of the ancient Greek tradition to ensure warring city states allowed safe passage for athletes to the games. Every two years, the host country of the upcoming Olympics introduces a UN resolution that other member states can co-sponsor.
鈥淲e want to work towards an Olympic truce and I think it is an occasion for me to engage with a lot of our partners,鈥� Macron said, adding that he would ask Chinese leader Xi Jinping to weigh in and use his influence.
鈥淭he Chinese president is coming to Paris in a few weeks, and I鈥檓 going to ask him to help me,鈥� Macron said. 鈥淭his is a diplomatic moment of peace.鈥�
Macron also backed the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics despite the Ukraine invasion, but under a neutral flag. Additionally, he defended the participation of Israeli athletes under their country鈥檚 flag despite its offensive in Gaza in which 33,000 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
鈥淲e cannot say that Israel is attacking,鈥� Macron said. 鈥淚srael was a victim of a terrorist attack to which it is now responding to in Gaza.鈥�
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Associated Press reporter Barbara Surk in Nice and National Sports Writer Eddie Pells in New York contributed to this report.
