In eastern Paris, where a fairground once stood, rows of temporary barracks have been erected. Green army bunk beds and massive mess halls for 4,500 troops have replaced the merry-go-rounds and candyfloss.

The camp's construction is on a record 65-day deadline, with the first soldiers scheduled to arrive on 3 July. Thirteen days later, these troops will be securing the showpiece opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics along a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the River Seine, a focal point of ongoing security concerns.

"We're on schedule," asserted Denis Lesaffre of the Economat des Armees, the armed forces' logistics partner overseeing the project. A total of 18,000 military personnel will be deployed to provide security for the Games, running from 26 July to 11 August.

They will support 45,000 members of the internal security forces, including police and gendarmerie, as well as between 18,000 and 22,000 private security guards daily. While the scale of this camp is reminiscent of those constructed during the Nazi occupation of France, its amenities would be unrecognisable to the soldiers of that era.

"In 1945, we were building camps of tents," Commissar General Philippe Pourque told AFP. "In 2024, it's a permanent structure with facilities that were unimaginable 50 years ago: WiFi, air conditioning."

Such amenities are "essential to ensure that our soldiers are able to cope" during the Olympics, he added, describing the standard as "almost superior to those of our deployments in our theatres of operation abroad." The last major camp established by the French armed forces in recent years was in Gao, Mali.

Up to 2,000 troops were stationed there in the middle of the desert as part of the anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane, until their withdrawal in 2022. The camp, resembling a city within itself, features rooms accommodating up to 18 soldiers, plumbing connected to Paris networks, and a gym for weightlifting. It includes three bars serving beer on tap but no hard liquor or wine.

Soldiers' primary duties involve patrolling about 20 kilometers per outing, carrying around 20 kilograms of gear on their backs. They must be prepared to deploy within 30 minutes in case of emergencies. According to Christophe Abad, the military commander for the Paris region, the chief concerns are "the terrorist threat, drones, and the protest threat, cyber attacks."

Named after Corporal Alain Mimoun, who earned Olympic medals from 1948 to 1956, the 10-hectare site is fenced and designed to harmonise with its environment. No building exceeds one story, set back at least two metres from protected trees.

Even the canteen, spanning 5,000 square metres and seating 2,100 soldiers, is designed to blend in with surrounding pines, beeches, and chestnuts, reflecting input from heritage and environmental departments.