Sport|Road cycling
Tour de France organizers are preparing for both protests by climate activists and riots in France. It also happens at the construction sites of the Olympic Games.
Road cycling the traditional major event Tour de France starts on Saturday literally in a state of fire in the middle of the country’s riots.
The first two stages of the Tour are run entirely in Spain in the Basque region before the caravan moves across the border to northern France during the third stage.
The organizers of the round trip have enhanced the event’s security measures. Leader of the competition Christian Prudhomme said a British newspaper For The Guardianthat the organizers are in constant contact with the French administration due to the rioting and unrest that started on Tuesday.
“We are monitoring the situation and its development,” Prudhomme said and assured that the Tour will adapt to changing conditions if necessary.
French magazine La Voix du Nord said that the Tour will employ approximately 25,000 police representatives during the three weeks.
In addition to the threat of unrest spreading, the organizers are also preparing for disruptions caused by climate activists. The Dernière Rénovation movement has already said that it will strike at the Tour.
“We will find ways to disrupt as long as the government does not implement effective climate measures”, the movement’s spokesperson said in May RadioCyclingon the podcast.
French magazine Ouest France said that the Dernière Rénovation movement already disturbed the drive last year. According to the newspaper, the movement’s activists protested three times at that time.
The facade of the water sports center in Aubervilliers was damaged by fire when rioters burned the buses in front of the center. The center is the training ground for the Paris Summer Olympics.
French news channel France24 said on Saturday that the unrest in the country had already raised concerns about the safe organization of the upcoming major games.
The men’s rugby World Cup will be held in France in the fall and the summer Olympics next year, and the riots have already spread to the framework of the five ring games.
“The buses parked near the construction site of the water sports center in Aubervilliers were set on fire,” Solideo, responsible for the infrastructure of the games, told the news agency Reuters.
“The facade of the building suffered very minor damage.”
According to Solideo, it is a swimming and water sports training center. The company said it is considering increasing security measures at Olympic construction sites to prevent further damage.
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