The Olympic torch is being lit in Greece on Tuesday, ahead of its journey to Paris for the start of the Games on 26 July.

Security has become a major concern for the French government, and plans for the opening ceremony are being reconsidered.

When are the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games?

The summer Olympics are from 26 July to 11 August, with 10,500 athletes competing in 329 events.

The Paralympics run from 28 August to 8 September, featuring 4,400 athletes in 549 events.

There will be 206 countries represented at the Olympics, and 184 at the Paralympics.

Where will Olympic and Paralympic events take place?

The main athletics events will be held at the Stade de France, on the outskirts of Paris.

However, there will be 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic venues in central Paris. For example, the Pont d'Iena will host cycling events and the start and finish points for the marathon will be at the Hotel de Ville and Les Invalides.

How are France's security forces preparing for the Olympics?

Worried about threats such as a drone attack, the government has cut spectator numbers at the Olympic opening ceremony.

The event is expected to see the national teams parading in boats along a 6km (3.8 mile) stretch of the River Seine through central Paris.

The original plan was for an estimated 600,000 members of the public to watch from the banks.

However, the government now says only 300,000 invited guests will be allowed.

And President Emmanuel Macron has said the ceremony could be moved from the Seine altogether if the security risk is too great.

Instead, the entire event could be in the Trocadero or the Stade de France.

"There are Plan Bs and Plan Cs," President Macron said, adding, "We are preparing them in parallel, we will analyse this in real time."

The French government is using about 20,000 soldiers and more than 40,000 police officers to provide security. It also has support from about 2,000 troops and police officers from other countries.

Security services have been screening one million people involved in the Games, including athletes, residents living close to the Olympic venues, medical staff and volunteers.

France's Prime Minster Gabriel Attal has said intelligence services uncovered two plots against the country by suspected Islamic militants in early 2024. "The terrorist threat is real, it's strong," he said.

Has Russia been banned from Paris 2024?

Neither Russia nor Belarus are allowed to send teams, because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus's support for it.

Competitors from those countries will only be allowed to take part as neutral athletes.

They will not be allowed to parade in the opening ceremony and will not have their national anthems played, or their national flags raised, if they win medals.

Russia has said it is "outraged" at its athletes' treatment and has announced a "World Friendship Games" in Moscow and Yekaterinburg in September.

The Soviet Union held a similar event in 1984, after boycotting the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia has also been conducting a propaganda campaign to undermine the Paris Games.

This has included putting out stories claiming they are being badly organised.

Has Israel been banned?

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for not also barring Israel from taking part, because of its military operation is Gaza.

However, IOC president Thomas Bach rejected the demand and confirmed Israel's participation.

Are the Games popular in France?

One opinion poll suggested that 44% of Parisians think hosting the Olympics is a "bad thing", with many planning to leave town.

Bus and metro fares will double in Paris during the Games.

The Olympic and Paralympic Village and a new aquatics centre are in a region north of Paris called Seine-Saint-Denis - one of the poorest parts of France.

Charities complained after hundreds of squatters were evicted from buildings close to the new venues.

Games venues in the centre of Paris will be cordoned off to the public and there will be extensive traffic restrictions.

A number of Metro stations and railway stations will be closed for part or all of duration of the Games.

"Paris will be unbearable," one resident told the BBC. "Impossible to park; impossible to move around; impossible to do anything."

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by BBC NEWS

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