"The Olympic Games will be a very important moment for our country. The army will deploy nearly 20,000 soldiers," he said. One of their missions will be to "accompany the Olympic torch". It will leave the Greek enclave of Olympia on 16 April and arrive in Marseille on 8 May to begin its journey across France.

During the Games, "a part of the military will be mobilised for the protection of the Games in the broadest sense, accompanying the internal security forces", Schill explained, "for the control of areas" or "for a certain number of specific operations and missions". 

The army will be tasked with protecting the start of the Games' opening ceremony, which will be held for the first time outside a stadium, on the River Seine as it flows through the French capital.

The army will set up a camp on the Reuilly esplanade, south-east of Paris, to house "several thousand soldiers" during the Games, Schill said. 

The level of security is unprecedented in France for the Olympic Games, which run from 26 July to 11 August, and the Paralympics that follow. Tens of thousands of police officers and members of private security guards will be deployed.

If the Paris 2024 organisers are unable to recruit the required number of private security guards, the army could increase the number of troops. Manoeuvres to respond to potential crisis situations during the Games are also part of the army's preparations. 

In the air, the French military plans to use Reaper surveillance drones, AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, fighter-bombers, aerial refuelling aircraft and helicopters carrying snipers and anti-drone equipment.