By: Michael Okuley
Even if a tragic attack in the French capital over the weekend heightened already-existing security worries, the French government is adamant that it will stick with its plan to stage the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on the Seine River.
Several security concerns have been raised about the ceremony’s potential for attack.
In what prosecutors are looking into as a possible act of terror, a guy who the authorities know to be a radical Islamist with mental health issues killed a German tourist by stabbing him to death on Saturday near the Eiffel Tower by the Seine.
“There is no plan B, we have a plan A within which we have several alternatives,” the minister told France Inter radio. She said the “terrorist threat and in particular the Islamist threat exists” but added “it is not new and it is neither specific to France nor specific to the Games”.
A flotilla of boats carrying athletes, delegates, and officials is supposed to travel down the Seine from the Austerlitz bridge in the east of Paris to the Iena bridge in the west. The celebration would then conclude across the river from the Eiffel Tower, in front of the renowned Trocadero Gardens.
Ghana is expected to mount a huge challenge for medals in the various disciplines.
