Olympic security: Bomb-sniffing dogs check Seine ahead of Paris opening ceremony

Bomb-sniffing dogs checked boats, floating bars and even a swimming pool on the Seine on Sunday ahead of an unprecedented Olympics opening ceremony on the river. 

For the first time, the opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Instead, dozens of boats will carry thousands of athletes and performers on a 6km floating parade on the Seine on July 26. 

Explosive detection canine handler, Anais Roman, and her dog Nikky, checked one of the boats set be part of the ceremony, docked near the Pont de Bercy on Sunday morning. 

She was one of a team of French and international police making the checks with over 30 canines in the four-and-a-half day operation, which started on Saturday. 

"For the dogs, it's a game. That dog over there is playing, for him, he has to seek, he has to find, if he finds a product he'll be happy so that's his reward. Generally, everything's going well," said chief superintendent of the areas around Paris, Zeljko Ilic.

He added that the "colossal task" of inspecting parade boats, private vessels and floating establishments open to the public like restaurants and bars to secure the banks of the Seine required international police to "lend a hand". 

On Sunday, police from the United Arab Emirates, Austria and Romania and their sniffer dogs joined the river inspections. 

Departing from the Austerlitz bridge, the parade will sail by Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and arrive near the Eiffel Tower, after passing under bridges and gateways, including the Pont des Arts and Pont Neuf, and near many of the French capital's landmarks. 

Some 45,000 police will be dispatched to ensure the ceremony's security, including special intervention forces. Snipers will be deployed on the top of buildings along the route. An anti-drone system will be in place. 

With wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and security concerns at home, France already has its security alert at its highest level. 

But, with more than 300,000 spectators expected to watch, it is also a major security headache.

"It's a six km route, so it's a huge perimeter to monitor. That's why we need that many (security) people," Konstantinidis, the Games' head of planning and coordination, told reporters. 

"Our security plans are very dynamic. They always take into consideration the latest events and try to adapt," he said during a tour of the Games' security headquarters,

Last Saturday's assassination attempt against former U.S. president Trump at an election rally in Pennsylvania has not changed the security plans for the Games, Konstantinidis said. 

"We have very close collaboration with the U.S. security services and its secret service. So we are sharing also any information we have," Konstantinidis said. 

"We're very confident that we're on the same page but we have not had to change any of our plans as a result of that very unfortunate incident." 

More than 100 people will be working around the clock at the Games' security headquarters in Saint-Denis, just outside Paris, he said.

Officials have added there were no specific terror threats to the July 26 ceremony, with Zeljko saying that security was "largely assured" for visitors to the Olympics. "Come with a free spirit and enjoy the games," he added.

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