An exceptional event, exceptional measures. On Friday 13 September, the Paris Police Prefecture presented the security system that will guarantee the protection of the “parade of champions” between the Champs-Élysées and the Place de l’Etoile, which will take place on Saturday from 4 p.m.
Some 70,000 people are expected on Paris’s most famous avenue and at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate the French athletes who have won (or not) medals during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. More than 300 athletes are expected to parade and receive the National Order of Merit or the Legion of Honour from the hands of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron – at the origin of this great parade – and“former glories of French sport”according to the Elysee, recipients of these high distinctions of the nation.
More than 4,000 police officers, gendarmes, Sentinel soldiers and municipal police officers will be mobilised, following a system identical to that applied during the Paris Games. From 10am on Saturday, an extended perimeter will be set up prohibiting all motorised traffic around the Champs-Élysées and the Place de l’Etoile, marked by a red zone on the anticipaterlesjeux.gouv.fr website.
“Traffic in the western part of Paris” will be “very complicated tomorrow”Police chief Laurent Nunez warned people to avoid the area. Metro stations 1, 2 and 6, located within the protection perimeter, will also remain closed. The RER A will not serve the Charles-de-Gaulle – Etoile stop.
“The shops on the Champs-Élysées will be closed”
Within this red zone, an anti-terrorist protection perimeter known as SILT (internal security and fight against terrorism) will be in force from 11:00 a.m. To participate, it will be necessary to have a ticket for the “parade of champions” (the 60,000 free tickets sold out in less than two hours on Wednesday afternoon) or accreditation for the event. Only local residents or emergency responders (firefighters, medics, etc.) will be subject to exemptions.
“Shops and establishments open to the public will remain closed from the Champs-Élysées roundabout to the Place de l’Etoile”With the exception of hotels, Laurent Núñez also announced, without specifying whether these businesses would be subject to compensation for loss of income.
“The controls will be very exhaustive”“The police prefect warned that ticket holders should arrive from 1 p.m. to the two sectors that will welcome the public: around 25,000 people along the Champs-Élysées, from Avenue George-V, and more than 30,000 people on the Place de l’Etoile, where the presentation of the decorations and the “best of” concert of the four ceremonies will take place, from 9 p.m., on a stage surrounding the Arc de Triomphe.
