A moment of growing concern across Europe is marked by the increased security in the French capital. This is because governments are attempting to evaluate and respond to threats that were made on a media channel that supports the Islamic State. It also comes at a difficult time for France itself, as the country is getting ready to host the Olympic Games in July. This comes as there are rising suspicions that the Kremlin is intentionally trying to raise doubts and fears about the ability of the French government to keep its citizens safe.
Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, stated that he had “considerably strengthened security” in the vicinity of the quarterfinal encounter of the Champion’s League that was scheduled to take place on Wednesday night at the Parc des Princes in the southwest of Paris. The action was taken in response to a threat that Mr. Darmanin stated had been “publicly expressed” by IS regarding sporting events that were taking place in Europe. After witnessing the recent attack that was claimed by IS on a concert venue in Moscow, the pro-IS media channel has reached out to supporters in France and other countries.
These supporters may feel more confident as a result of the incident. However, Mr. Darmanin was eager to put the threat, as well as the increased national threat level, into perspective. He emphasized that the possibility of an attack by the Islamic State was “not new” and that “I do not have – and I say this quite frankly – any specific information concerning this matter.” We are unable to determine which location may be particularly affected, nor do we know the conditions that may be present.
In addition to this, he mentioned that his troops, which have a long history of combating Islamist extremism, had prevented two attacks since the beginning of the year and had detained five persons in three separate cases over the course of the preceding two weeks. Two supporters who had traveled from Toulouse in order to attend the Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona match were ready to dismiss the potential dangers.
“We live constantly under the threat of terrorists and attacks so we have not stopped ourselves from living and coming to a superb match even after these threats,” Julien, who is 21 years old, said.