For those who have followed the debates in the National Assembly a little, this is not really a surprise. Rebellious deputies and environmentalists announced on Monday an appeal to the Constitutional Council against the government’s text for the 2024 Olympics, mainly considering that certain security measures contravene the “individualization of sentences” and the “right to respect for private life”. .
The text provides for a controversial experiment: using images from cameras and drones to feed algorithms that would automatically alert the authorities of a potentially risky event (crowd movement, abandonment of luggage, etc.). But the list of events to monitor will be fixed later. “This device seriously undermines the fundamental freedoms to come and go (and) to demonstrate”, criticize the elected officials in their appeal that AFP was able to consult.
Potentially discriminatory practices
“Such a dangerous experiment does not have to extend (…) beyond the Olympic Games”, write the applicants, certain that they will serve as a springboard to perpetuate this video surveillance. They are concerned that an algorithm may consider “that certain characteristics such as a particular piece of clothing or skin color are more likely to be associated with the risk sought”, fearing “a potentially discriminatory and racist practice”.
Another subject of opposition, the strengthening of the anti-doping arsenal with genetic tests to detect new forms of doping. The absence of consent constitutes, according to these deputies, an attack on “privacy” and “individual freedom”.
Body scanners also in the viewfinder
The elected officials also denounce the planned extension of the possibilities of conducting administrative investigations, in particular before the assignment of temporary workers in certain sectors. The access of participants (with the exception of spectators) and accredited persons to competition sites and fan zones may be subject to this investigation. But the scope of this last measure, defined by decree, “is not limited in time and could cover a large number of demonstrations”, according to the opponents, who see it as a reason for unconstitutionality.
Also in their sights: the possibility of deploying body scanners, which they consider disproportionate and contrary to the right to privacy. Finally, they denounce the creation of offenses repressing entries “by force or by fraud” into sports arenas, in repeat offenses or in meetings, and entries into the grounds under the same conditions, considering that the article does not sufficiently specify the type target behaviors.