Macron reveals ‘Plan B’ at games

French President Emmanuel Macron said for the first time that the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony could move from the river Seine to the national stadium in the event of a security threat.

Mr Macron said instead of teams sailing down the Seine on barges, the ceremony could be “limited to the Trocadero” building across the river from the Eiffel Tower or “even moved to the Stade de France”.

The Paris organisers have devised a ceremony that is unprecedented in Olympic history as it breaks from the tradition of the Games opening in the main stadium.

The plans would see as many as 10,000 athletes sailing along a six-kilometre stretch of the Seine in around 160 barges, before gathering at the Trocadero for a ceremony.

But with war raging in Ukraine and in Gaza, the ceremony also leaves teams potentially vulnerable to attack French authorities have, for example, mentioned the possibility of an attack launched by drones.

So far, organisers have denied the ceremony on July 26 could be moved to a different venue if authorities believe there is a possibility it will be targeted.

“This opening ceremony ... is a world first. We can do it and we are going to do it,” Macron said in an interview with BFMTV and RMC.

“We have put in place a security cordon which is going to be very big, where we are going to check all the people coming in and going out,” Mr Macron said.

But, he added, “there are Plan Bs and Plan Cs, we are preparing them in parallel... We will analyse this in real time”.

The backup plans include moving the ceremony to the Stade de France to the north of Paris, the main stadium for the Olympics where the rugby sevens and athletics will be held.

Moving the ceremony from the Seine would be a huge undertaking and would deprive the Paris Olympics of their defining image.

More than 300,000 spectators are expected to be present for the ceremony.