Thousands of French soldiers are in Paris to help secure the Olympics

Transcript

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Some 15 million people are expected to attend the Olympic Games in Paris, which are now in their second week. Keeping them safe is a top priority for the French government, so they brought in soldiers to help secure the city, even building a pop-up military camp to house them. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.

JOURDAN LANDRY: The main street of Camp Caporal Alain Mimoun.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Can we take a picture?

LANDRY: Yeah, of course.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Jourdan Landry is with the organization that builds military camps for the French defense ministry. We're on the main street of Camp Corporal Alain Mimoun, on the west side of Paris, in a space usually reserved for fairgrounds or traveling circuses. Today, there's a barracks for 5,000 soldiers put up in just 60 days. Landry switches to French.

LANDRY: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: "Camps of this size are usually built with NATO or the EU," he says, "in places like Mali, Afghanistan or Kosovo. Operational bases like this aren't needed at home. This is the biggest camp on French soil since World War II."

The camp includes an infirmary, sports facilities and a massive dining hall. Army Press Officer Mathilda shows us around. French soldiers only use their first names.

MATHILDA: But they have starters, main courses, dessert. They have everything.

BEARDSLEY: Cheese.

MATHILDA: Cheese - yeah, of course.

BEARDSLEY: She says having good food is important for the soldiers' morale.

MATHILDA: So they know that after a very long day of patrolling outside in Paris, they have the chance to go home in the camp and have a good meal.

BEARDSLEY: Warrant Officer Simon is one of the soldiers patrolling Paris. Before, he served in Mali. So how does it compare?

SIMON: It feel just, like, different and the same. In Mali, it was a war zone - away from home a long time. Here, we are not in a war zone. It's our capitol. We are with our citizens. It's not danger everywhere. That's the main difference between Mali and Paris.

BEARDSLEY: Still, he knows the Olympics are a target. We follow a patrol. Some 15,000 soldiers are assisting 30,000 police to keep Paris safe during the games. Lieutenant Samuel, from a parachute regiment, says he's proud to be part of this.

SAMUEL: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: "It's a very important mission securing these Olympic games because the whole world is here," he says. "But we are familiar with patrolling Paris since the terrorist attacks."

He's talking about the 2015 attacks on newspaper Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan concert hall that killed nearly 150 people. Parisians have since become used to the sight of soldiers on their streets, but it can still be jarring for tourists. German Anetta Milken is asking two soldiers for directions near the Eiffel Tower.

ANETTA MILKEN: The first days, we felt a little bit surprised, especially when we saw the weapons. But the last days, we find the soldiers and the army and the gendarmerie, we found them helpful, and they were really always very polite.

BEARDSLEY: But the success of the opening ceremony along the Seine River, with no problems beyond a little rain, has eased fears and boosted confidence among officials and the public. Fifteen-year-old Canadian Roland Madogo is with his family. He says at first he was shocked to see soldiers with their automatic rifles. Now he's getting a selfie with them.

ROLAND MADOGO: Since we don't have this in Canada, I feel we should, like, take a picture to, like, experience this and, like, know, like, that they'll keep us safe at all times and everything.

BEARDSLEY: A special memory for a young man who will have another memory to hold onto. His sister, Jacqueline, is a sprinter competing for Canada in the games.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.