Olympic organizers hope for a peaceful reaction to the elections in France, but note the difficulty of planning due to internal and external factors. Writes UNN with reference to France24.
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After the victory of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party, the second round of voting will take place on July 7, just 19 days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Michael Payne and Terrence Burns, former heads of marketing at the Olympic Committee (IOC), spoke about the key risks ahead of the Olympics.
According to Payne, any form of civil unrest in connection with the election results is now an important issue.
This can affect security and already stretched services
"The internal political unrest does add another wrinkle to the security planning for the Games, but I seriously doubt that this is something that anyone there has thought about or planned for," said Terrence Burns.
According to the experts, "there is a need for management to be focused and able to make quick and swift decisions when a situation arises.
Payne emphasized that, according to his information, security services are already focusing on potential problems due to two crises outside of France.
The geopolitical preparations for this Olympics, from the Russian-Ukrainian war to the Israel/Palestine situation, are creating the most complex and delicate international situation in more than three decades
Both experts hope that the world's largest sporting spectacle will be a pleasant, albeit temporary, distraction.
"The Games always bring a 17-day snowstorm to the host city (...) I believe the Games will remain a source of pride for the vast majority of the French nation and its people," concluded Burns, who has played a key role in five successful Olympic bid campaigns since leaving the IOC.