Maximum vigilance for New Year’s Eve. As New Year’s Eve approaches, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, indicated this Friday during a press briefing that more than 90,000 police officers and gendarmes, as well as 5,000 soldiers from Operation Sentinel, will be mobilized on Sunday evening for the transition to the new year. The system includes 73 mobile force units, including four from the new CRS8, as well as helicopters.
Such a deployment, which is part of those of previous years, comes “in a context of very high terrorist threat due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine”, also said the tenant of Place Beauvau.
A million people on the Champs
In Paris, where larger festivities than last year are planned to launch the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer, 6,000 police forces will be mobilized. The party is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. and end around 12:30 a.m., said the police chief, Laurent Nuñez. The sale and consumption of alcohol will be prohibited in certain areas.
“Protest demonstrations will be prohibited,” added the police prefect. To access the perimeter of the festivities, spectators will be searched. (And) within this perimeter, sales of objects that could be used as weapons by destination (knives for example) will be prohibited.” The authorities expect 700,000 to 1 million people to come to the Champs-Elysées, and more than 1.5 million spectators in total in the capital. Giant screens will be installed from Place de la Concorde to the top of the Champs-Elysées. Drones will also be deployed.
An increase in seizures of fireworks mortars
Gérald Darmanin took advantage of this press point to welcome the fact that seizures of fireworks mortars have increased by “45%” compared to the same period last year.
He also insisted on the mobilization of law enforcement agencies overseas, particularly in Guyana and Mayotte, as well as in two mainland cities, Charleville-Mézières and Romans-sur-Isère.