France prepares massive security operation ahead of Euro 2016

Euro 2016 kicks off this Friday amid continuing security operations in France, as French police forces prepare for possible attacks in and around the country.

After the repeated terror attacks which hit France in 2015, 2.5 million ticketholders and millions more will arrive to Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and others this week, for one of the biggest sporting events in Europe.

Paired with continuing unrest over President François Hollande's new labour laws, France faces a serious challenge to be able to host the event without incident. Hollande says that the terorist threat is still the biggest that Euro 2016 has to face, however.

Hollande says that the terorist threat is still the biggest that Euro 2016 has to face

Possible disaster scenarios have been ran through over the last several weeks, from suicide bomb attacks to gas attacks, with thousands of volunteers particpating in order to make the drill seem as realistic as possible.

“We are doing everything to avoid a terrorist attack, and we’re preparing to react to one,” the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said. The exact nature of the threat is not particularly clear as of yet. France still remains on a general terrorist risk level after the attacks in Paris on the Bataclan theatre and Charlie Hebdo, but there are is no specific intelligence to suggest that Euro 2016 will be targeted.

The US state department warned its citizens last week of the danger of going to France for the tournament.

“Euro Cup stadiums, fan zones, and unaffiliated entertainment venues broadcasting the tournaments in France and across Europe represent potential targets for terrorists,” the statement said.

France still remains on a general terrorist risk level after the attacks in Paris on the Bataclan theatre and Charlie Hebdo

Prime minister Manuel Valls has said that there is no foundation for the state department claims, but French newspaper Libération reported that the bomber that attacked Brussels on 22nd March had initally been ordered to plan towards the football tournament.

A French national was arrested on the border between Poland and Ukraine this week with weapons and explosives, and the fear was that it was with a view to cause an attack during the competition. French police insist however that there is no evidence against him in this regard.

Security numbers will be vastly increased for the 24-team-tournament, as football stadiums security procedures have been stepped up after embarrassment at the mistakes at last month’s Coupe de France final between Paris-Saint Germain and Olympique de Marseille at the Stade de France.

Despite "close-searching" of fans as they entered the ground, various banned objects such as fireworks, flares and glass bottles made it into the stadium.

The French government have made it clear that security for the Euros will be different, with multiple layer body searches and ID checks along with a vast number of security forces.

For many, however, the problem rests with not necessarily the stadiums, but with the various fan areas which will take over the country for the next 4 weeks. 90,000 people can fit in the zone placed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and Nicolas Sarkozy's republican party have complained that they are an easy target for terrorists and should be done away with.

The hosts take on Romania on Friday evening in the first test of the organisation and security of the event in the Stade de France, in Paris.