53 French officers support Dakar Youth Olympic Games security
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Senego
A French contingent of 53 police officers, gendarmes and civil security specialists has arrived in Dakar to help secure the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. It will work with Senegal’s National Police at competition venues and command posts, as part of cooperation prepared over several months, according to Senego.
A French contingent of 53 police officers, gendarmes and civil security specialists arrived in Dakar on Monday to help secure the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The officers will work with Senegalese forces at competition venues and in operational and tactical command posts, according to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS).
Senegal’s security arrangements include units deployed at Camp Abdou Diassé in Dakar, where the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, attended a review of officers and shooting exercises. The Director General of the National Police, Mame Seydou Ndour, also led site inspections at Iba Mar Diop Stadium, the Olympic Swimming Pool and the new operational command post in Saly.
This Franco-Senegalese cooperation is based on exchanges launched ahead of the Games, with visits by Senegalese teams to France after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the training of Senegalese professionals by their French counterparts. France’s ambassador to Senegal, Christine Fages, said that more than 100 million euros had been mobilised under the partnership, including more than 85 million euros for direct support for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
The security mobilisation comes as Faye handed the flag to Senegal’s 136 athletes on 26 October for the delegation taking part in the Youth Olympic Games. It follows the collection of equipment by 6,000 volunteers for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, announced on 21 October.
