With the visits of King Charles and Pope Francis, security under high tension in France

Test Between matches and demonstrations, Saturday promises to be a potentially tense day

More than 30,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized on Saturday. — Sameer Al-DOUMY/AFP

Visit of King Charles to Bordeaux, from Pope Francis to Marseille, Rugby World Cup, Ligue 1 matches, demonstrations… France is entering a particularly tense and complex week in terms of security, an important new test ahead. a few months before the Paris Olympic Games. From Wednesday, which marks the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Camilla for a three-day state visit, numbers will increase to 100%. 8,000 the number of police and gendarmes mobilized, we learned on Saturday from a police source.

There will be 10,000 on Thursday, then 12,000 on Friday and 30,000 on Saturday, where Demonstrations against police violence will take place mainly in Paris. Paris but also in other cities in France. Paris will also host the Techno Parade on Saturday for its 25th anniversary while the Marseille Vélodrome will be the venue for a mass celebrated by Pope Francis, who will also descend the avenue from the Prado in a popemobile.

Saturday, “most complicated day””

“It’s a multiplicity of large-scale events, important protocol events. King Charles is on a state visit, with a very large number of stops and meetings with local residents. This is a security issue. “very important,” said the police source, recalling the “context of terrorist threat which continues to exist” weigh on our country » even if “our services did not detect’ of particular threats.

These visits will take place in the middle of the Rugby World Cup, which does not take place in the middle of the Rugby World Cup. security forces ceased, in addition to Ligue 1 football matches, including a high-tension match, PSG-OM, Sunday September 24 at the Parc des Princes. “The most complicated day for us will be Saturday, we are mobilizing over the whole day between 130 and 135 Mobile Force Units (UFM, gendarmerie squadrons and CRS), i.e. a total of 30,000 police officers and gendarmes,” said the police source, adding that France was “not in a complicated social moment”.