Paris showed on Friday that it can offer a safe environment to host the Olympics after an attack was thwarted at the Louvre Museum on the day when the city submitted its bid file to host the 2024 Games, mayor Anne Hidalgo said.
A French soldier shot and wounded a man armed with machetes and carrying two bags on his back on Friday as he tried to enter the Paris Louvre museum in what the government said appeared to have been a terrorist attack.
"I went straight there (to the Louvre museum) with the head of Paris police and what I could see is the serenity and the efficiency of our security forces," Hidalgo told Reuters on the Place du Trocadero, with the Eiffel Tower lit in blue and red in the backdrop.
Paris is competing with Los Angeles and Budapest to host the 2024 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will select the host following a vote on Sept. 13 in Lima.
Hidalgo does not believe Paris is the only city concerned by militant attacks.
"The threat exists in all cities across the world. It's a threat that all cities need to take seriously," she said.
"This morning, our security forces showed their efficiency and again we showed how resilient Paris is."
More than 230 people have died in France in the past two years at the hands of attackers allied to the militant group Islamic State. Therefore the French capital knows how to handle terror threats, Hidalgo explained.
"This capacity to react is an asset for this (Olympic bid)," she said.
"It is important that we can rely on our security forces to counter these threats."
On Friday, the man trying to enter the Louvre shouted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) and rushed at police and soldiers before being shot and seriously wounded near the museum's shopping mall, police said.
The soldier who shot the man was from one of the patrolling groups which have become a common sight in Paris since a state of emergency was declared in November 2015.
Another soldier received a scalp wound in the incident. "I want to spare a thought for the officer who got injured," said Hidalgo.
"Paris is a city of hope and youth, in which a lot of people come to take root.
"It is a city that reassures, a city from which we can build a bright future."
Socialist Hidalgo was elected mayor in 2014.
Reuters
Sat Feb 04 2017
Anne Hidalgo speaks during the launch of the international campaign for the Paris bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, France, February 3, 2017. REUTERS
MOM bakal hantar resolusi rayu kerajaan teruskan penganjuran Sukan SEA 2027
MOM akan menghantar resolusi kepada Kementerian Belia dan Sukan untuk merayu agar Malaysia kekal menjadi penganjur Sukan SEA 2027.
AWANI Borneo [29/04/2024] – Perkukuh sektor perhutanan | Calon ADUN Tanjung Batu | Piala Borneo bakal kembali
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas dari Borneo bersama Nickyson Nyambar
#AWANIBorneo 29 April 2024
Sarawak perkukuh kerjasama dengan Sweden, sektor perhutanan tumpuan utama
Calon ADUN Tanjung Batu, Bung Moktar kekal dengan pendirian, Andi reda tapi tunggu bubar dulu
Fazzrudin sambut baik usaha tubuhkan Gagasan Bola Sepak Borneo
#AWANInews
#AWANIBorneo 29 April 2024
Sarawak perkukuh kerjasama dengan Sweden, sektor perhutanan tumpuan utama
Calon ADUN Tanjung Batu, Bung Moktar kekal dengan pendirian, Andi reda tapi tunggu bubar dulu
Fazzrudin sambut baik usaha tubuhkan Gagasan Bola Sepak Borneo
#AWANInews
Vokalis Dewa 19, Virzha kahwin wanita Arab
Salah seorang vokalis Dewa 19, Virzha mengakhiri zaman bujang pada usia 33 tahun.
Blok Negara Islam Sedang ‘Stress’? Langsung Dialog 4 Menteri Luar
Situasi meruncing di Gaza, konflik Iran-Israel dan ditambah pula persaingan kuat dua kuasa, Amerika Syarikat dan China dilihat terus membayangi percaturan geopolitik dan geoekonomi negara-negara Islam di Asia Barat. Menteri Luar Turkiye dan Arab Saudi antara yang tampil duduk sepentas
membincangkan apa lagi yang bakal jadi nanti.
#SpecialMeeting24
membincangkan apa lagi yang bakal jadi nanti.
#SpecialMeeting24
Krisis iklim: Kanak-kanak antara paling terjejas - UNICEF
Apabila bencana alam berlaku, kanak-kanak lebih terdedah dan berpotensi mengalami kesan yang berpanjangan.
Raja Permaisuri Agong terima menghadap Pesuruhjaya Tinggi British ke Malaysia
Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah hari ini berkenan menerima menghadap Pesuruhjaya Tinggi British ke Malaysia Ailsa Terry di Istana Negara.
Masyarakat Cina bersama meriahkan rumah terbuka UMNO Sandakan
Masyarakat Cina di sekitar Sandakan bwersama memeriahkan dan menikmati juadah di rumah terbuka Aidilfitri anjujran UMNO Sandakan.
Gagasan Bola Sepak Borneo bantu tingfkatkan kualiti pemain Sarawak
Presiden Kuching FA Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman menyambut baik uaha menubuhkan Gagasan Bola Sepak Borneo yang diyakini mampu menggilap kualiti bola sepak di pulau itu.
Terserah Bung Moktar, yang penting khidmat untuk rakyat dulu - Andi
ADUN Tanjung Batu, Datuk Andi Muhamad Suryady Bandy menyerahkan kepada Datuk Seri Bung Moktar untuk memastikan kemenangan UMN O dalan PRN 17 namun pada masa sama berharap perkara mengenai calon dibincang selepas DUN Sabah dibubar.
PRN 17: Pimpinan UMNO Sabah berhak nilai calon terbaik
Ketua Perhubungan UMNO Sabah Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin menegaskan pihaknya bertanggungjawab menetukan calon terbaik untuk mewakili parti itu dalam PRN Sabah ke-17.