France Introduces Massive Security Measures for Climate Summit

France Introduces Massive Security Measures for Climate Summit

Despite the terror attacks on Paris in early November, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius decided not to move or postpone the U.N. Climate Conference, also known as the COP21. To call off such a major gathering of world leaders in the French capital would have been an unthinkable surrender to terrorism.

The security situation involved with accommodating nearly 150 heads of government and an additional 40,000 visitors and delegates is daunting especially because of the fact that the conference will run for nearly two weeks.

France has dedicated 2,800 police and gendarmes to ensuring the security of the summit venue at Le Bourget, on the northern outskirts of Paris. A further 8,000 officers have been deployed to secure the country’s borders. Altogether, 120,000 police and gendarmes have been mobilized across France according to the Interior Ministry.

The government had announced at the beginning of the month that border controls would be imposed ahead of COP21 -- in what Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve then called a precaution against "a terrorist threat or risk to public order."

Cazenueve said that that more than 300 people had been arrested since November 13, the day of the attacks, and nearly 200 of them remain in custody.

Because terror groups tend not to target summits precisely and stage attacks to coincide with such events elsewhere, French authorities have banned public demonstrations planned to mark COP21. Authorities said, “It was a difficult decision to make but in the present context, the safety requirements are the priority.”

All public rallies in Paris have been banned since the attacks, and providing security for a march of tens of thousands of people while keeping the summit itself safe would have been a logistical nightmare. There was also the risk of panic in the event of some sort of explosion; a firecracker set off a stampede in the Place de la Republique days after the recent attacks.

The security measures put in place have not affected the climate activists passionate about pressuring world leaders to create a better plan for the Earth’s environment. The frustrations over restrictions on protests put in place gave rise to what French President Francois Hollande called, “scandalous” scuffles between activists and police.

Police arrested more than 200 people following flare-ups in which protesters pelted police with shoes, bottles and even candles police said were taken from memorials at Place de la Republique.

Hollande said authorities knew “troubling elements” would arrive in Paris for the talks and said that is why “these sort of assemblies were banned and some were ordered to stay home.”

Despite those tensions, demonstrators were largely peaceful ahead of the crucial climate change session. In place of the big march, protesters lined up thousands of shoes representing climate change activists.

The talks will begin on Monday, November 30, with the aim of reaching a landmark global deal on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

The leaders of the United States, China and India, the world's top three carbon-emitting countries, are among those scheduled to attend the opening day of the event.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Facing Facts for Facilities

    Despite the proliferation of constantly evolving security solutions, there remains a troubling trend among many facility operators who often neglect the most important security assets within their organization. Keys and shared devices like radios, laptops and tablets are crucial to successful operations, yet many operators are managing them haphazardly through outdated storage systems like pegboards and notebooks. Read Now

  • Report Reveals Security Training Reduces Global Phishing Click Rates by 86%

    KnowBe4, the cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management, today launched its “Phishing by Industry Benchmarking Report 2025” which measures an organization’s Phish-prone Percentage (PPP) — the percentage of employees likely to fall for social engineering or phishing attacks, indicating the organization’s overall susceptibility to phishing threats. This year’s report found a global average baseline PPP of 33.1%, meaning a third of employees interact with phishing simulations before taking part in best-practice security awareness training (SAT).COVER 2025-PIB-NA-Report_EN-US Read Now

  • TSA Begins REAL ID Full Enforcement Today

    Today, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the imminent implementation of its REAL ID enforcement measures at TSA checkpoints nationwide. Read Now

  • Body-Worn Cameras on the Rise

    On the evening of Oct. 29, 2024, the owner of 300 Guard based in Houston, was shot while on duty at a convenience store. He returned fire. He was wearing a plated vest and thankfully recovered in the hospital. Read Now

  • Brazil Port Enhances Surveillance and Supports Wildlife Conservation with Sustainable Technology

    Ferroport, which operates the iron ore terminal at the Port of Açu in São João da Barra, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has deployed state-of-the-art video surveillance cameras from Axis Communications to enhance nighttime security and visibility, while decreasing environmental impact and prioritizing sustainability. With cutting-edge technology, the port now has precise surveillance cameras that capture high-quality nighttime images, while reducing the amount of artificial lighting that negatively impacts the surrounding ecosystem. Read Now

New Products

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • Hanwha QNO-7012R

    Hanwha QNO-7012R

    The Q Series cameras are equipped with an Open Platform chipset for easy and seamless integration with third-party systems and solutions, and analog video output (CVBS) support for easy camera positioning during installation. A suite of on-board intelligent video analytics covers tampering, directional/virtual line detection, defocus detection, enter/exit, and motion detection.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”