The 2024 Paris Olympics open today as hundreds of U.S. Olympians begin battling for gold medals. For many of them, thousands of hours of practice will pay off.
But this year’s Olympics won’t just be about the efforts and athleticism of its athletes. Over the past year, France has been hard at work preparing a massive surveillance state for the Olympics. From surveillance drones to the largest military base in Paris since World War II, France has built a vast technology network to make the Olympics both “safe” and dystopian.
During the Olympics, Parisians and visitors QR Code Police officers are needed to get through the barricades into the restricted area, reminiscent of COVID zones in overprotected states.
Here are 10 of the craziest examples of mass surveillance during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Artificial Intelligence Camera
Tourists aren’t the only ones taking photos of themselves in Paris. CCTV cameras AI-powered algorithms It records and identifies suspicious people and objects on the street or in large crowds. French authorities insist there is no facial recognition, but “AI-enabled video surveillance… allows for mass control,” digital rights activist Noémie Levant told BBC News.
- Surveillance drones
- Fighter
- helicopter
If you’re booking a trip to Paris in August, don’t be surprised if you see a bird-like machine flying overhead, or even a helicopter with the Eiffel Tower in the background. “Rafale fighter jets, airspace-monitoring AWACS surveillance flights, Reaper surveillance drones, sniper-capable helicopters and drone-neutralizing devices will patrol the skies over Paris. During the opening ceremony, the skies over Paris will be closed as a 150-kilometer (93-mile) no-fly zone around the capital,” reported the Associated Press.
- Tracking location data
In preparation for the Olympics, the French Prime Minister’s Office Secret Provisional Order This will strengthen the government’s ability to track citizens and visitors’ data, including their location. Essentially, the French government will be able to track people’s every move, whether they go to the grocery store, school, church, or attend a political event.
Even if it is temporary, what could stop the French authorities from maintaining this decree forever? After all, governments love power. President Reagan once joked that “Governments never scale back of their own accord. Government programs, once started, never go away. In fact, government agencies are the closest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth!”
- Wiretapping
Not only can government authorities track people’s every move, but they can also listen in on all phone conversations. Under the same provisional decree, the French government will be allowed to covertly eavesdrop on civilians’ phone conversations, borrowing methods from the KGB.
- QR Code
During the Olympics, Parisians and visitors QR Code In Paris, people will have to wait for police to pass through barricades to enter the no-go zone, reminiscent of a vigilante state’s coronavirus zones. A four-mile “Belt of Steel” of barricades will be set up around the Olympic site, restricting access to the Eiffel Tower observation deck, the Seine River, and other famous Parisian sights. These barricades may also be a hassle for locals trying to get to work or eat out. There will also be larger car-free zones.
- Resident background checks
Parisians who do enter these high-alert areas will face even greater scrutiny: People who work or live in buildings near the Seine or the opening ceremony site “will be checked against security databases to see if they have been previously flagged as suspected Islamic extremists or for other extremist theories,” Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told The Associated Press.
The concern is how the French authorities will define “radicalism”: are supporters of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally “radical”? The Washington Post I certainly think so. If the French authorities agree, will French nationalists be barred from certain areas of the city?
- House Guest Registry
The French government doesn’t just want to know who’s walking the streets of Paris, it also wants to know who Parisians are inviting into their homes. Deutsche WelleResidents living in restricted areas will have to register visitors they invite to watch the Olympics from their balconies, windows, rooftops or houseboats.
- Military base
In perhaps the “least worst” example, French authorities plan to mobilize a large contingent of police officers and soldiers to protect the city from potential terrorist threats. AP News The report said up to 45,000 police officers would patrol the streets during the Olympics, while a further 10,000 soldiers “established the largest military base in Paris since World War II, and should be able to arrive at any of the city’s Olympic venues within 30 minutes.”
French authorities probably wouldn’t be criticized too harshly for calling in soldiers to provide security for such a large event — terror attacks remain a real concern in Western Europe — but the huge military base, along with fighter jets, drones, AI drones, and eavesdropping devices, certainly gives Paris a Soviet feel.
