sport news Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine could be SCRAPPED, admits Emmanuel ... trends now

French President Emmanuel Macron has admitted Paris 2024 could be forced to scrap its ambitious opening ceremony plans amid security concerns.

Organisers have been planning to hold a city-centre opening ceremony, marking the first time the spectacle will take place outside of a stadium.

Plans would see the near 10,500 athletes travel parade through the River Seine on boats.

Athletes will be taken down a six-kilometre route on around 170 boats, which will pass landmarks including the Notre Dame cathedral, the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde.

The route will end close to the Eiffel Tower, with the Trocadero gardens hosting the finale of the ceremony.

Macron, speaking to French outlets BFM-TV and RMC, stressed that the security operation around the event will be raised to an 'exceptional level'.

The French president, however, admitted organisers could be forced to scrap their plans if security risks prove too great.

'This opening ceremony is a world first. We can do it and we are going to do it,' Macron said. 

'But if we think there are risks, depending on our analysis of the context, we have fallback scenarios

'There are plan Bs and plan Cs.

'We are preparing them in parallel, we will do an analysis in real time. We have a ceremony which would be limited to the Trocadéro and which would therefore not cover the entire Seine.'

Macron confirmed an option would be for the opening ceremony to be relocated to the Stade de France, reverting to a traditional ceremony.

When asked by a caller who was worried about her son attending the ceremony, Marcon replied 'If there is a place where your son will be safe, it's there. We will screen all the people who enter and leave.'