France’s Senate Law Commission has adopted four amendments to a Bill facilitating the use of airport-style body scanners at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, including the requirement for “express” consent by visitors.
The Bill would allow body scanners to be used by private security agents at sporting, recreational and cultural events of more than 300 people instead of security searches.
Le Monde reports that this is with the intention of preventing “terrorist attacks as well as crowd movements or the stagnation of spectators which can cause serious incidents or constitute targets static”.
The amendments seek to clarify the conditions of using the scanners. They “cannot be imposed” on venues, and may only be installed at the site manager’s discretion under one of the amendments.
Individuals are also required to give “express” consent to undergo inspection by body scanner, and must be made aware of alternative security searches which can be undertaken in the event of a refusal.
Similar body scanners have been used at the last two men’s FIFA World Cups in Russia and Qatar. Security is one of the key issues in the build-up to Paris 2024, with the Opening Ceremony along the River Seine expected to be a major challenge.
Funding for security was increased by €25 million (£21.9 million/$27 million).
Nearly 30,000 police officers and gendarmes are set to be mobilised each day for the duration of the Games. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11 next year, followed by the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.
