Olympic Surveillance Between Paris and London
Thanks to Emma Mc Cluskey and Akos Kopper, a cross-interview with Myrtille Picaud and Pete Fussey has just been published in the journal PARISS (Political Anthropological Research on International Social Sciences). In it, we look back at surveillance during the Paris 2024 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
Abstract
Pete Fussey conducted extensive research on Olympic surveillance in London, and Myrtille Picaud, an urban policy sociologist, carried out fieldwork on the Paris Games.
The interview examines the intensification of biometric surveillance technologies, experimentation with new security devices under the cover of Olympic exceptionalism, and legacy issues of these infrastructures beyond the sporting event. We also discuss citizen mobilizations against these systems and the limits of democratic control over these massive technological deployments.
The analysis highlights how the Olympic Games serve as a laboratory for security technologies and practices that tend to become normalized in ordinary urban space management.
Full reference: Fussey Pete, Picaud Myrtille, Tréguer Félix, Kopper Akos, et al., 2025, “Olympic Surveillance between Paris and London: Interview with Pete Fussey, Myrtille Picaud and Félix Tréguer”, Political Anthropological Research on International Social Sciences (PARISS), vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 68‑91.