Video surveillance, initially planned for the Olympic Games, will be generalized across the country

While the device was not supposed to be used ;eacute; that for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, algorithmic video surveillance will finally be generalized on the territory by the new Government.

Are surveillance cameras the future of everyday security? ? The new government led by Michel Barnier seems rather in favor of a generalization of the video surveillance system used during the last Paris 2024 Games.

These state-of-the-art cameras are equipped with “intelligent image analysis software that can detect predetermined events in real time.” This is the description that could be read during the deployment of augmented video surveillance within the “Olympic and Paralympic Games” law of 2024 and adopted at the beginning of 2023. The device had notably been used during the Games events, but also during several concerts such as those of Taylor Swift and Dépêche Mode.

Initially intended to maintain security during the Games, this video surveillance will finally be generalized after an initial extension of the law that carried the project until March 31, 2025.

Following his general policy statement made on Tuesday, October 1, the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier declared want a “generalization of the method tested during the Olympic Games”. A decision that goes back on previous statements by the Ministry of the Interior, which promised that the experiment would not go beyond the extension already established.

On the side of the Paris police, this statement is notably approved by the current prefect Laurent Nunes who draws a positive assessment of it during the experiment of the Games. It will however be necessary to ensure that this algorithmic video surveillance can respect the digital freedoms of citizens, in particular in terms of GDPR and protection of personal data.