High risk week in France. Law enforcement will be on all fronts, with a threat of a resurgence of attacks, and also to ensure security for various events. Sports, with Rugby World Cup matches in Lille, Paris and Saint-Étienne. PSG will meet Borussia Dortmund at home on Tuesday for the start of the group stages of the Champions League, then will host Olympique Marseille on Sunday as part of the sixth day of Ligue 1. Still in Paris, a demonstration against violence Police and Techno Parade are scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 23.
Two distinguished guests will be especially welcomed. Pope Francis in Marseille on September 22 and 23, and King Charles III accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, from September 20 to 23. The royal couple will be accompanied at all times by officers from Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP).
Charles III’s visit program has changed very little compared to that of March, which was aborted after the strikes and demonstrations against pension reform. Charles III and Queen Camilla will be received by Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte at the Arc de Triomphe to rekindle the flame of the unknown soldier. The subsequent drive down the Champs-Élysées will allow the crowd a closer look at the British monarch, but will facilitate malicious acts against his person.
Its security is the responsibility of the London police force, “The Met”. One of its divisions, the Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) or SO14, is specifically responsible for the protection of the royal family. Each member has at least one bodyguard, in civilian clothes and equipped with a handgun. “Naturally, King Charles III and the Queen Consort benefit from a security ‘package’ which includes protection agents, sniper teams, bikers and even sniffer dogs,” explained Simon Morgan in an interview with Point de vue.
From 2007 to 2013, he provided protection for the royal family before launching his private security company, Trojan Consultancy. “To become a protection officer at SO14, you must complete a total of nearly 26 weeks of courses,” he explains on his website. The training includes advanced driving, weapons handling and first aid courses. “These physical skills are then combined with basic close protection skills such as marching in formations, arrivals and departures, event planning, reconnaissance, dilemmas and protocol,” he lists.
Each visit is carefully prepared: “the plan will be checked and rechecked; the route has been walked countless times,” insists Simon Morgan. “As a Protection Officer you represent the Royal Family, the Metropolitan Police Service, Her Majesty’s Government and when you’re overseas it’s all wrapped in a British flag. You must negotiate with some and be strong with others in order to achieve your operational objectives. »
Dinner at Versailles, speech before the Senate the next day… the sovereign’s schedule will in any case be very busy until his arrival in Bordeaux on Friday. All the people who will meet the royal couple have been carefully examined, explains Le Parisien, to avoid profiles with criminal records, fanatical beliefs or mental illnesses.
SO14 police officers have already intervened to protect the royal family. In October 1981, Queen Elizabeth II was shot as she got out of her car during a visit to New Zealand. The shooter, who missed his target, was arrested immediately. Then Prince of Wales, Charles was also the victim of an assassination attempt in 1994, on Australian soil. An anthropology student fired two blank shots from a starting pistol before being taken to the ground by the head of security.
