Euro 2016 organisers confident of safe tournament

Security at the tournament, which runs until July 10, has been a major issue since last year’s terror attacks in Paris and the more recent bombings in Brussels.

But for the quick thinking of a steward one of the attacks would have brought mayhem to the France v Germany friendly match at the Stade de France.

The app, developed after last year’s bloody attacks on Paris, is being released Wednesday ahead of the European Championship soccer tournament, which starts June 10. On Tuesday, a senior counter-terrorism official told AFP that they remain deeply concerned that extremists could aim for areas with minimal security protection during Euro 2016.

Uncollected black refuse sacks were also accumulating in Saint-Etienne, the central city that will host four Euro 2016 matches.

“France was chosen to host this big event and will live up to the scale of the task”, Hollande said, adding that a smooth running of the world’s third biggest sporting event would also showcase a country bidding to host the 2024 Olympics.

“A supporter who wishes to go to stadium or fan zone will go through one security check to makes rue they don’t hold any weapons or explosives, that’s valid for all stadia (bar St de France, for operational reasons)”.

The latest round of negotiations broke down today. Those who said that they were anxious about terrorism added that they would also try to avoid public spaces during the games, which start on Friday and run through July 10.

Sports Minister Patrick Kanner accused the hardline CGT and Sud unions, which are demanding the withdrawal of a labour reform bill, of “guerrilla” tactics.

For Friday, railway and Metro authorities promised extra trains to bypass the strikers and carry 70,000 people – as many as with any normal match – to the stadium in the hours immediately before and after the game, to and from central Paris.

France remains a top target for the Islamic State (IS) group and warnings from the United States and Britain that the tournament could be a target have only added to the sense of nervousness.

Euro 2016’s organisers have had no formal warnings of terror threats to the event as they promise unprecedented levels of security to protect fans.

The CGT wants the Socialist Government to scrap the labour reforms, which unions say are stacked in favour of employers and will chip away at job security.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed yesterday that 300 people had been barred from serving in the private security teams after vetting showed they had been radicalised. “The risk is simply too big”, he told Sport Bild weekly.

Fearing possible terrorist attacks targeting the country during the Euro 2016, up to 100,000 police and security personnel are being employed, including 13,000 special agents, to secure the tournament.