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Opening ceremony to feature barge procession on river

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Attack by vandals heightens concerns over security risks

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Some 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers deployed for Games

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Wars in Gaza, Ukraine provide difficult global backdrop

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'Everything is ready," says President Macron

(Edits)

By Ingrid Melander

PARIS, July 26 (Reuters) - The Olympics officially kick off on Friday with an extravagant opening ceremony in the heart of Paris, but an attack by vandals targeting France's high-speed TGV rail network exposed security risks at a time when all eyes are on the country.

The coordinated actions by saboteurs brought major disruption to some of France's busiest rail lines. Paris 2024 said the Olympics opening ceremony would go ahead as planned.

No one has claimed responsibility.

The attacks took place far from Paris at a time when a massive security operation rolled out in the capital for the opening ceremony, involving some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers, has sucked in security resources from across France.

The opening parade will feature a procession of barges which will take nearly 7,000 athletes along the River Seine past Paris's most famous landmarks, while more than 300,000 spectators will watch from the banks.

Since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a highly tense international backdrop. France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there is no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

As part of a vast security operation, authorities have wielded powers granted by an anti-terrorism law, placing 155 people under surveillance measures that strictly limit their movement, official data and a Reuters review of cases showed.

Meanwhile, Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics, officials say.

Scores of world leaders will be in Paris for the opening ceremony, which will be protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed has been swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace will be closed.

For the Games more generally, radar-surveillance planes and Reaper drones will monitor sensitive sites from above, and Mirage 2000 fighter jets will be on standby to intercept aircraft straying into restricted airspace.

EVERYTHING READY

"Everything is ready," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video he posted on X. "Even the (Olympics) rings are there," he said, overlooking the Eiffel tower. "Enjoy the Games!"

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy.

But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.

High security has also prompted much grumbling among Parisians after police imposed a security zone along the river ahead of the opening ceremony, erecting metal barriers to fence off neighbourhoods and requiring authorisation - passes with QR codes - to enter.

Cafes along the banks of the Seine, which normally buzz with activity in the summer, have been left very quiet due to the restrictions.

That has not helped lift the national mood over the Olympics, which Macron hopes will improve once the Games have properly started.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine means Moscow's usually huge delegation of athletes has been reduced to 15 who met and accepted eligibility requirements to compete as neutrals, according to a list published by the International Olympic Committee on July 20.

Belarus will send 17 athletes competing as neutrals.

Ukraine is sending 140 athletes - its smallest contingent since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

FLOATING PARADE

Starting at 7:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), in broad daylight, the ceremony, which marks the official start of the Paris 2024 Games, will pass by many of the French capital's beloved landmarks, including the Louvre museum and Pont des Arts bridge.

"We're going to take advantage of all the historic monuments around the Seine, and there won't be a single riverbank or bridge that won't be filled with music, dance, or performance," the ceremony's choreographer Maud Le Pladec has said.

It will be the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium.

Details have been kept secret, including on some of the artists taking part, who will be the last to carry the torch and light the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of the Games.

The artistic team said they had been rehearsing in private to keep it all under wraps.

One big unknown for the open-air ceremony is the weather. It is currently forecast to be cloudy, while organisers were hoping there would be a "golden hour" of sunset lighting up buildings midway through the ceremony.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday. The closing ceremony will take place on Aug. 11.

(Additional reporting by Geert de Clercq, Julien Pretot, Elizabeth Pineau, Michel Rose, Louise Dalmasso, Juliette Jabkhiro and Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris, Angus MacSwan and Gareth Jones)