Paris 2024 security coordinator suspended for alleged inappropriate behaviour

Ziad Khoury, left, has been suspended from his role as Olympic national security coordinator because of alleged inappropriate behaviour ©Prefet de l'Aisne

The French Government's national security coordinator for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, Ziad Khoury, has been suspended by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin for alleged "inappropriate behaviour" towards a woman, reports have said.

An incident is alleged to have occurred during a visit to Britain in November 2021.

A complaint is understood to have been made after Khoury was alleged to have used "inappropriate language" to a British policewoman during the visit.

"During this trip, there were a dozen people who accompanied him, he is accused of having awkward remarks but he is calm, he has nothing to reproach himself for," a colleague told the Le Parisien newspaper.

It has been reported that Khoury has been suspended as a provisional measure and his duties are to be taken up by a deputy.

An investigation has been ordered to last no longer than a month.

Réunion stratégique dédiée aux JOP2024, en présence des préfets Michel CADOT, @dijop et Ziad Khoury, @cnsj_fr. Les membres du CA du CNAPS et les représentants de la sécurité privée ont échangé sur les dispositifs visant à mobiliser les acteurs de la filière afin d'être au RDV. pic.twitter.com/hu6oE4ylPt
— Conseil national des activités privées de sécurité (@CNAPS_Interieur) February 14, 2023

Khoury had previously been in charge of the police in Aisne, a department to the north of Paris.

Earlier, he had served as head of safety and security for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship held in France.

The Government's proposed security measures for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and the deployment of artificial intelligence surveillance, have come in for criticism from human rights groups but draft measures have been approved by the French Senate and National Assembly.

There have also been widespread protests and civil disturbances in France over pension reforms.

Security will be a key issue at Paris 2024, particularly with a planned Olympic Opening Ceremony on the River Seine which is scheduled to feature athletes on a flotilla of boats.