“In China, of course, it was calm!” – Liberation

In the Olympic “bubble”

Police officers, gendarmes and members of civil security, there will be dozens of them protecting the Olympic flame as it travels throughout France. Near Marseille, “Libération” followed their latest training sessions.

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The convoy is in sight. Bearer 2 has just collected the Olympic flame from bearer 1. After this “torch kiss”, he begins his race. A group gets excited while waiting for him. They applaud, they shout: “Long live the flame, Go to the Games!” As the procession arrives at their level, an individual escapes from the group and tries to force the security cordon to approach the bearer. Express intervention: tackling the person concerned to the ground, stopping the procession with closing ranks around the flame while the incident is resolved. This is one of the disaster scenarios tested in the middle of the pines near Marseille this Monday, May 6 by the police and gendarmes selected to ensure the safety of the Olympic flame throughout its journey. In the Carpiagne military camp, the final collective training sessions are taking place before heading off to secure the 450 towns that the torch will pass through before the opening of the Games in Paris on July 26. “In total, we dealt with around 150 risks,” explains Police Commissioner Charles Barion, responsible for the national police for securing the torch relays. This ranges from the breakdown of a vehicle on the course to more serious events, such as a terrorist attack. Some will also want to use this media window. We will certainly be disturbed, particularly because we are in a democratic state. In China, of course, it was calm!”

At each stage, whether in a small town or sprawling Marseille, the “security bubble” around the flame bearer will be the same: a convoy made up of around forty vehicles, where there are 12 motorcyclists, gendarmerie vans and 18 “runners” on foot, forming a cordon on either side of the carrier. Also in the procession, a car from the “anti-drone fight” unit has the mission of identifying and neutralizing the signal of any device flying over the area without authorization. Finally, GIGN soldiers, in discreet outfits, concentrate on possible armed attacks. In total, between 40 and 60 agents will be mobilized in this bubble.

“This system was built little by little, drawing inspiration from our practice as for events such as the Tour de France or others, which had to be adapted and ramped up for this extraordinary event,” explains Commissioner Barion. We made it evolve according to the threat and the locations chosen for the relays.” With his counterpart in the gendarmerie, he has been mobilized since the summer of 2023, in particular for scouting throughout France. The route was built through arbitration between mayors keen to highlight the jewels of their heritage on one side and security constraints on the other. Exit, for example, a direct passage in front of Strasbourg Cathedral, surrounded by small shopping streets: the flame will finally pass in a parallel street, 200 meters away, with a perspective on the building.

At the Carpiagne military camp, the team is setting up for the other scenario tested on Monday. The “torch kiss” took place without problem, bearer 2 leaves with his lit torch but he collapses a few meters further on. “Ouch, ouch, my ankle… an old injury coming back to life!” simulates the gendarme fully in his role before being taken care of by the emergency services. The convoy stops and a person positioned behind the bearer comes to extinguish the torch. He is the “guardian of the flame”, an agent selected from the ranks of the police, gendarmerie or civil security, and responsible for ensuring that the fire lit on April 16 on the ancient site of ‘Olympia never goes out. But the bearer’s torch is extinguished at the slightest incident and relit at the next relay, 200 meters further on. What matters, above all, is that the small lantern carried by the guardian, one of those lit from Olympia, shines continuously.

“It’s a big responsibility… but everything will be fine!” confides Marion, a 29-year-old peacekeeper, recruited in September like a hundred of her colleagues to carry out this task day and night until the outbreak of fire. of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony on July 26 in Paris. The lantern she holds for training is not yet lit: the real Olympic flame arrives Wednesday May 8, aboard the Belem, in the port of Marseille.