They had announced it, they kept their word. The deputies from two opposition groups in the National Assembly, the Insoumis and the Ecologists, have lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Council against the Olympic law. In particular, they are challenging, as they did during the examination of the project in Parliament, the experimentation of so-called intelligent video surveillance, using cameras and drones, to alert the authorities in the event of a potentially risky event (movement of crowds, abandonment of a piece of luggage…). It could start as soon as the law is enacted, concern large-scale “sporting, recreational or cultural events“, and remain in force until at least 31 March 2025, i.e. well beyond the Olympic (26 July-11 August) and Paralympic (28 August-8 September) Games. The appeal states: “This measure seriously infringes on the fundamental freedoms to come and go and to demonstrate. Such a dangerous experiment should not be extended (…) beyond the Olympic Games.” The insoumis and ecologist elected representatives also contest the authorisation, provided for in the Olympic law, of genetic tests to fight against doping. It is necessary, in view of the Paris 2024 Games, to be in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. But according to the opposition MEPs, the absence of consent constitutes an infringement of “privacy” and “individual freedom“. Finally, their appeal to the Constitutional Council concerns the planned extension of the possibilities of administrative investigations to certain categories of accredited persons, the possibility of deploying body scanners at the entrance to competition sites, and the creation of offences punishing entry “by force or fraud” into sports venues.
