Exceptional events call for exceptional measures. A huge military camp will be set up in Paris next summer, for the duration of the Olympic Games. Set up on the Pelouse de Reuilly, in the 12th arrondissement, it will provide tented accommodation for some 5,000 military personnel. As General Christophe Abad, Military Governor of Paris, explained at a round-table discussion on security for the Games: “This camp will have the special feature of being extremely close to the heart of Paris. The proximity between the parking areas and the deployment sites is a strategic issue, and at its heart lies the issue of the mobility and responsiveness of our forces“. At this stage, the number of military personnel who will be deployed to reinforce the police and gendarmerie, and make up for a probable shortage of private security guards, has not yet been specified. But the size of the planned camp in the 12th arrondissement of the capital suggests that there will be at least 5,000. Several sources suggest that the number could reach 15,000. In addition to the army, security for the Olympic Games will be provided by 30,000 police officers and gendarmes, plus 17,000 private security guards paid for by the Paris 2024 OCOG.
