Tour de France increases security following attack in Nice
Organisers pay tribute to those who lost their lives, as international race rolls on.
- Published by David Knox
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The Tour de France is continuing, with added security, following a deadly attack in Nice.
At least 84 people were killed on Thursday after a large truck crashed through a crowd of revellers gathered for a Bastille Day fireworks display.
The Tour champion and race leader was scheduled to compete in the race’s first time trial after organisers said the hilly 37.5km leg to La Caverne du Pont d’Arch in the Ardeche region will go ahead despite the attack.
There was a minute’s silence at the start of the stage, several hours’ drive from Nice, and the Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, said there will be another ceremony at the finish, with a moment of silence involving the yellow jersey, the best sprinter and the best climber.
“Today, we want to pay homage to the victims with dignity,” he said. “We have been asking ourselves if the race should continue and after consulting with authorities we have decided it should. The Tour de France will continue in a subdued and solemn manner.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Luzet, the gendarmerie’s liaison officer to the tour, adding: “We have 600 officers mobilised to ensure security on this stage. They’re at the start, at the finish and along the route. After what happened last night in Nice we have changed our security feature accordingly.”
The three-week race is protected by an unprecedented force of 23,000 police officers.
Source: Guardian
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2 Responses
Again, the authorities are reactive rather than proactive. If the race is considered a potential target worth diverting additional security resources to then that has been the case since it began two weeks ago.
Unless we deduce that the above is a message for both public and potential threats. I can’t see any event of this size happening without major security already addressed.