The Senate overwhelmingly approved Tuesday the flagship article of the Olympic bill, very safety orientedwhich will authorize the experimentation of cameras equipped with algorithms starting this year for the 2024 Olympic Games.
For the Minister of Sports and Olympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, this text contains “the essential adjustments to follow up on our commitments and our operational needs for the realization and proper functioning of the Olympic Games”. The debate calmed down, even on the most sensitive points.
This law comes a few months after the Fiasco of the Champions League final at the end of May at the Stade de France. Ticketless spectators climbing through the gates, ticket holders blocked at the entrance, families tear gassed by the police or even robberies and muggings, the final had turned into a nightmare.
So to secure the Paris Olympics, likely to attract 13 million viewersand some 600,000 people for the inaugural ceremony on the banks of the Seine on July 26, the authorities request the help of cameras to detect suspicious movements in the crowd.
Much around the speakers that in adjacent transports, they will also be able to detect “abandoned objects”, or even allow “statistical analysis, of traffic flow for example (…)”, according to the study of the impact of the law. Experimentation with these new tools can start from the entry into force of the law, but also for “recreational” and “cultural” events. The text has been retouched by the government after the opinion of the CNIL (National Commission for Informatics and Liberties) and the Council of State.
When the session resumed in the afternoon, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, came out to defend this measure, explaining that it was important to “develop a French framework”, after Amélie Oudéa-Castéra reiterated a little earlier that the government “does not wanted facial recognition for the Olympics.”
The Interior Minister also defended the measure that allows people who intervene in fan zones to be “screened” (subjecting them to an administrative investigation) because otherwise “we would leave an enormous field of action for terrorists.” An LR amendment was adopted to be able to filter out “temporary workers”.
Another security measure: body scanners, which could somewhat make up for the lack of private security guards, and in particular women, that everyone expects. And “this before coming to the army”, reacted Gérald Darmanin, when an amendment by David Assouline (PS) on the subject was presented.
Another sensitive issue: genetic testing to meet global anti-doping standards. After having foreseen a distinction in committee, the Senate finally approved an amendment by the rapporteur LR Agnes Canayer aimed at “perpetuating all genetic tests in the sports code, without going through the experimental phase.”
It is about verifying that there is no genetic doping (gene therapy, messenger RNA, gene editing) but also transfusion or substitution of samples. The possibility of repealing the opening of shops on Sundays between June and September 2024 was also voted on. The text also reinforces the sanctions in case of intrusion into a sports venue. A solemn vote is scheduled for January 31.
Source: BFM TV
