When football fans set off smoke bombs and firecrackers at the Stade de France last Saturday, it "exposed gaps in France's efforts to tighten security just two weeks before hosting Euro 2016," according to Horobin & Robinson of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Still "in a terror-induced state of emergency," French authorities are preparing to "manage 8 million fans and secure around 100 locations" for the European football championships. France’s "apparatus was being tested" at the game between Paris St. Germain and Olympique de Marseille. Despite new security barriers, where all attendees were supposed to be searched, fans "were able to smuggle in banned smoke bombs." For the Euro matches, "two million fans from abroad are expected to flock to French stadiums and town centers." Despite the security fears, 30 of the 36 opening-round games "are completely sold out." The French public "appears sanguine about the risks." According to a survey of 1,002 French people at the end of March, 82% thought Euro 2016 and the Tour de France "should go ahead despite the official state of emergency that was declared after the Nov. 13 attacks." Tournament organizers "hiked the security budget" after Nov. 13 by 15% to €34M ($38M) for locations directly connected to matches and teams. But fan zones, where thousands of people without tickets gather to watch the games, "have caused more consternation." In Paris, a zone at the foot of the Eiffel Tower "is expected to draw 90,000 fans on an almost daily basis." The state and local authorities will spend €17M ($19M) "securing fan zones and installing video surveillance at the sites." The French state "will mobilize 73,000 police officers and gendarmes for Euro 2016 and redeploy some of the 10,000 soldiers on the homeland antiterror mission" (WSJ, 5/27).
