The Polish Minister of Defense announced on Thursday, March 28th that soldiers will be sent to France this summer to participate in the security measures for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. The Ministry of Defense referred to this deployment as reinforcements, specifically mentioning canine teams.
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Hamas and Israel, the organization of the Paris Olympic Games is proving to be quite challenging. The security of an event involving 15,000 athletes and their delegations amidst millions of spectators is a top priority for French authorities and the organizing committee.
In a tense atmosphere, the Polish Minister of Defense surprised everyone on March 28th by announcing that his country would send military reinforcements to assist in securing the Olympics. This comes as France has heightened its security alert level following a recent attack in Moscow.
“The Polish Armed Forces will join the international coalition established by France to support the preparation and security of the Summer Olympic Games,” stated Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on social media. He mentioned deploying soldiers along with sniffer dogs for explosive detection and counter-terrorism missions.
Paris was taken aback by this announcement, with the Quai d’Orsay, the Ministry of Defense, and the Elysee Palace initially responding with silence when pressed for details about the “international coalition.” The French Ministry of Defense later clarified that several foreign nations would be reinforcing critical areas such as canine capabilities during the Olympics, but stressed that this did not constitute an international coalition specifically for the Games.
As the Games approach, the French government decided to raise the Vigipirate alert level to the highest “emergency attack” status immediately after the recent concert hall attack in Moscow where 143 people lost their lives.
