In English or Japanese… How are the police trained to respond to tourists?

“Excuse me sir, where is the Champs-Élysées? » With millions of spectators expected to arrive in France for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, police are ready to ensure their safety. But answer any questions they might ask. In the past year, around 3,600 civil servants have taken foreign language courses. Most – 3,000 people – have mastered their English, while others have taken lessons to improve Italian, Spanish, German, Arabic and even sign language.

It explains that the training provided is “adapted to operational requirements”. 20 minutes A spokeswoman for the National Police, Sonia Fipluil. The aim is to allow agents to “inform people about public roads, help them find a police station, find their way and inform them about Paris and traffic”.

Chinese and Japanese subjects

Police officers mobilized during the event conducted a raid to assess their condition. Depending on the results, poor performers were sent to train at the National Police Training Institute located in Clermont-Ferrand. At best, they were able to follow courses remotely. Although most of them worked in the language of Shakespeare, some managed to deepen their knowledge in Chinese or Japanese. “The agent must already have a minimum command of these oriental languages ​​to offer the internship,” insists Sonia Fipluil. You don’t train a police officer for a year to learn a language he doesn’t know. »

In their units, these police officers were able to count on the help of colleagues “of foreign origin and fluent in a language other than French,” the agency’s spokesperson continues. These volunteer “casual interns” were selected and trained by the police academy to pass on their language skills to officers deployed near the Olympic sites.

Assistance of foreign police officers

Police will not be alone on the streets of Paris and other cities. They could count 1,800 reinforcements from 43 different countries. “It’s normal to have police officers, gendarmes, civil defense agents, deminers coming from abroad to help with the biggest event in the world, the Summer Olympic Games,” he said. franceinfo home Minister. “They help the national teams grow well, but also the visitors who can meet people who speak their language,” he said, noting that a large part of them will be employed at train stations, airports and 39 Olympic sites. Or sports meetings.

These foreign police officers can patrol “in pairs” with French police officers. “It’s easier to respond to a tourist by having a foreign colleague who speaks his language,” emphasizes Sonia Fipluil.

“My Protection” is translated into English

As far as possible mobile police stations will be set up in places open to the public. However, tourists who cannot meet one of the 35,000 police and gendarmes each day can get information by visiting the website, which is mobilized every day to protect the games. My security », fully translated into English for the occasion. Visitors can chat with trained staff to answer and guide them in English, German and even Spanish.