France to deploy 6,000 police to secure Olympic torch

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 6,000 police officers will be deployed as part of security measures for the Olympic torch, which is scheduled to arrive May 8 in Marseille.

Darmanin spoke to reporters about the Games to be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11.

Darmanin said when Belem, the 19th-century sailing boat carrying the torch, arrives in Marseille, a large number of maritime police and bomb disposal teams will be on hand, emphasizing that increasing the number of security personnel is a noteworthy effort for the city.

He noted that 6,000 police officers will be on duty in the region during the arrival of the torch. “Everything is 99% ready to welcome the torch,” he said.

Darmanin said there were no threats that would affect the Games or its fever, except the weather.

The traditional torch lighting ceremony took place April 16 in the ancient city of Olympia in Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics.

The torch’s tour of France will end with the lighting of the Olympic flame in Paris during the opening ceremony on July 26.

*Writing by Zeynep Cetin in Istanbul