Germany and France have agreed on close security cooperation for the European Football Championship in Germany and the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. Both countries want to “provide each other with security forces” at major sporting events, the Federal Ministry of the Interior said. “We are planning close cooperation between the police authorities, for example with joint police units and joint patrols in rail traffic between Germany and France,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). “We work very closely together to counter hybrid threats and protect against terrorism,” she said.
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Faeser attended the meeting of the French government cabinet. Her French counterpart Gérald Darmanin announced that the German-French operational unit (DFEE), which is responsible for public order during major events, would be deployed.
The Federal Police and National Gendarmerie should take on joint tasks
“The Joint German-French Service Unit (GDFD) is also deployed in the joint search area of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg/Kehl,” wrote the ministry. “These are the pillars of a solid cooperation on which our two countries know they can rely on in the long term,” said the French Interior Minister. The common train lanes are to be intensified on the Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart and Paris-Saarbrücken-Frankfurt routes.
In the DFEE, founded in 2019, the federal police and the French National Gendarmerie work together to deal with major events. The GDFD, which has been operational since 2021, has twelve employees per country and fights illegal immigration and cross-border crime in the border region.
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During the European Football Championship, French police officers are supposed to support German officials at the games, especially in matches with French participation. At the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France, the federal police will send officers to protect the German House in the Jean Bouin Stadium in Paris and are also expected to support the gendarmerie.
Germany and France have agreed on close security cooperation for the European Football Championship in Germany and the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. Both countries want to “provide each other with security forces” at major sporting events, the Federal Ministry of the Interior said. “We are planning close cooperation between the police authorities, for example with joint police units and joint patrols in rail traffic between Germany and France,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). “We work very closely together to counter hybrid threats and protect against terrorism,” she said.
