President Herzog meets with Macron ahead of Olympic games, following threats on his arrival

President Isaac Herzog met with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Herzog congratulated Macron for hosting the games and to relay his appreciation for Macron's efforts to fight antisemitism in France.

Je remercie le président de la France @EmmanuelMacron pour son accueil chaleureux et le félicite d'avoir accueilli les Jeux olympiques à Paris. J'apprécie ses efforts dans la lutte contre l'antisémitisme, et sa contribution pour assurer la capacité de l'excellente délégation… pic.twitter.com/1io6U7SxZV

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 26, 2024

He also thanked Macron for ensuring that the Israeli Olympic delegation will be able to compete "proudly and fairly" at the Games.

"The State of Israel is proud to participate in the Olympic Games and raise its flag on this important world stage," he tweeted following the meeting.

"With every jump and every step, with every kick, with every heave and with every strike, we stand in solidarity with our sons and daughters who are on the front lines; we stand in solidarity with those displaced from their homes in the north and the south of the country, and we continue to demand the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas."

Threats to the Olympics

French media reported that threats were made against Herzog prior to his arrival in Paris; this has led to French security services ramping up their protection of the President.

The threat was brought to the attention of the French security services on Monday, who quickly tracked the tweet to a suburb outside of Paris.

Anti-terrorism police were deployed to the suburb, and judicial investigations were opened, French media reported.

Threats against the Israeli delegation have been one of the highest priorities of the French security services, saying, "The delegations and citizens of the State of Israel will receive the highest level of security coverage."

On Friday morning, it was discovered that a series of arson attacks had occurred on French rail infrastructure, damaging three high-speed train routes.

France has deployed more than 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers, and 2,000 private security agents, with snipers and drones watching over the whole city.