Bomb threat in Paris: Area near Olympic venue sealed off after police find ‘suspicious object’

A bomb threat has been issued in Paris after police found a “suspicious object” near an Olympic venue.

The area around Porte de Paris train station in Saint-Denis has been cordoned off as police wait for a specialist bomb squad to arrive. Image defeated.

The station, which is close to the Stade de France stadium where the Olympic Games have been held since yesterday, has also been closed due to the threat.

The stadium was reportedly empty when the bomb alert was sounded this afternoon, after the first Olympic session of the day ended at 1pm.

The second session of the evening starts at 5:40 PM and will once again see hundreds of sports fans flock to the stadium.

But it is still unclear whether the affected train station will be open again by then.

General view of Porte de Paris train station in Saint-Denis, where officers found a ‘suspicious object’

The Porte de Paris train station in Saint-Denis, located near the Stade de France stadium (pictured), has been cordoned off as police await the arrival of a specialist bomb squad.

According to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, authorities did not identify any “tangible” terrorist threats during the first week of the Olympic Games.

In the same week, about 200 people were arrested by security forces for various crimes.

Mr Darmanin released the first official statistics on security at the Paris Olympics during a visit to a police station in Saint-Denis.

He said that about 200 people have been arrested since July 26, of whom 180 have been detained by police.

According to Darmanin, among them there are also “people” who “could have committed” attacks, including on the day of the opening ceremony.

But, he added, “there was no question and to this day we are not aware of any tangible threat from (terrorist) organizations… There is no question of an organized attack that we are aware of.”

Mr Darmanin also stressed that in Paris and the surrounding suburbs there has been a 24% reduction in violent thefts and a 10% reduction in car thefts.

“Petty crime has generally decreased significantly, probably because there are many more police and gendarmes in public spaces,” he said.

Mr Darmanin will remain in an interim role at the Interior Ministry until a new government is formed after parliamentary elections earlier this month.

The bomb threat came after a large army of some 45,000 police officers from 43 countries and 18,000 soldiers were recruited to form France’s vast defence system.

In addition to human efforts, several air units are also involved in the “unprecedented” operation, including Rafale fighter jets, AWACS surveillance flights, Reaper surveillance drones and helicopters carrying experienced snipers.

Around 1,700 members of the British police force are supporting French officers in Paris and Marseille, as well as British sniffer dogs hand-picked by the French authorities.

This is a breaking news story. More to come.