Paris, June 7: More than a thousand French troops will be commissioned to maintain security in Paris during the Euro 2016, the city’s police chief Michele Cadot has said.
“We will invite 1,200 military men to reinforce police to maintain law and order,” Cadot is quoted by the French channel BFM as saying on Monday.
In November 2015, Paris saw a series of terrorist attacks. First, bombs were exploded near the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, where France were playing against Germany.
Also, terrorist attacks took place in Charonne Boulevard, Voltaire Boulevard and Fountaine au Roi and Alibert streets and the concert hall Bataclan. The terrorist attacks left 130 killed and over 350 injured.
The French government at the end of April prolonged the state of emergency, originally effective till May 26, to the end of the European Cup finals. All law enforcement personnel will maintain tight security, as the risk of terrorist attacks remains high.
Over 6,500 volunteers were selected to provide assistance services to guests and participants of the 2016 Euro Cup, which kicks off this weekend in France, according to a media guide of the tournament.
The number of volunteers at the current Europe’s biggest football tournament exceeds the number at the previous Euro Cup in 2012 by approximately 1,000 and 60 per cent of them are females.
Fortythree per cent of this tournament’s volunteers are under the age of 25. In all, the volunteers are coming from 96 countries and 52 per cent have experience working at similar tournaments.
The Euro 2016 will be held in France between June 10 and July 10 with matches to be played at 10 different locations, namely in Bordeaux, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.
A total of 24 European national teams qualified for the Euro 2016 final tournament in 2016, after the contestants’ format, which was used since 1996, was decided to be extended from 16 to 24 teams.
