In February 2024, only 1 out of 2 French people trusted France to organize the JOP of Paris 2024 (1), but in August 2024, between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 8 out of 10 French people were satisfied with the organisation and image that the Games gave to France (2). How did France meet this challenge and overcome the initial doubts to deliver such a success?
Ensure security through real-time coordination and centralized data management
To ensure the safety of major international sporting events, the state established in 2023 the National Center for Strategic Command (CNCS). Equipped with a Hypervision platform, the result of a configuration from the software platform of Suadeo, this interdepartmental center is an information and process ecosystem responsible for capturing weak signals likely to impact events, provide an overview and relay information to each involved authority in order to prevent any risk of incident.
“It was the ambition and the challenge of the Ministry of the Interior to equip itself with a completely new information system integrating data to ensure strategic steering of the 2024 Olympic Games,” explains Colonel Christophe Deshayes, Chief of Staff of the CNCS, at the plenary conference held at Big Data & AI Paris 2024.
Based in Beauvau with about 70 people, the CNCS covers a wide range of issues, including security, which is the core business of the Ministry of the Interior, but also logistics, health and cybersecurity, of transport, tourist reception and spectator experience. All these issues had to be taken into account, both by the national strategic command centre that was created for the occasion at the Ministry of the Interior, but also by the tools that equipped it and that were used by the operators,” Colonel Deshayes said.
Video : Colonel Christophe Deshayes’ Feedback
A Hypervision platform approved and configured for the needs of the CNCS
The French software publisher Suadeo and the Digital Transformation Directorate (DTNum) of the Ministry of the Interior have designed a Hypervision platform that meets the needs of CNCS operators. To do this, they specially configured the data services software platform of Suadeo.
This customized configuration has resulted in five business applications, grouped within the Hypervision platform, and allowing you to organize and share information in real time via forms, “Mains courantes”, and dynamic situation points for reporting on demand. Each application meets a business need,’ comments Colonel Deshayes. In addition to its initial function as a Hypervision, the platform has also made it possible to respond to other business issues such as HR management, for example, managing vacation planning.
Suadeo is a “game changer” ! By placing the experience of operators at the heart of the system, priority has always been given to the Trades. Suadeo has taken our needs into account and transformed our organization through a disruptive digital ecosystem.
Colonel Christophe Deshayes, Chief of Staff of the CNCS – Ministry of the Interior
Hosted within the Interministerial Network of the State (RIE), in the Cloud of the Ministry of the Interior (Cloud Pi), at the level of Restricted Dissemination, maximum level of protection of sensitive data, the platform meets high security standards and ensures total transparency thanks to the RSSI chain, which tracks each access and modification.
Emergence of unprecedented interministerial collaboration
Initially tested in full-scale during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the CNCS Hypervision platform was then optimised to meet the needs of the Olympic Games. “The Rugby World Cup was a huge laboratory, but in real,” says Colonel Deshayes.
This development, the result of 18 months of intensive work, focused on security (certification at DR level – Restricted Distribution), continuous optimization of tools (development in Kubernetes, a containerization system for integrated services), and the connection to the various Information Systems of the Ministry of the Interior, offering advanced technology adapted to the needs of users, and generating an unprecedented interdepartmental working community within the state.
“We have a lot of tools, lots of IS but they are all in silos,” explains Colonel Deshayes. “There, we created a platform that is integrated, interfaced with other IS of the Ministry of the Interior, which was interfaced with IS of the Organizing Committee, the IOC, and all this in accordance with a fairly high standard in terms of cybersecurity, with management of access rights.”
This approval in February 2024, in less than a year, it had never been seen at the level of the Ministry of the Interior. We are on a solution that is safe and can be worked on with serenity, with data which, by definition, is still sensitive.
Colonel Christophe Deshayes, Chief of Staff of the CNCS – Ministry of the Interior
Interministerial collaboration was facilitated by the “Mains Courantes” application. The platform centralized more than 1000 information and/or events per day, which were uploaded and geo-located within the Hypervision Hub, and disseminated to all interdepartmental centres. Nearly 1,500 liaison officers used it to report on events that could impact the conduct of the Olympic Games, ensuring smooth coordination between different departments such as health, transport and security.
This unprecedented experience, which was carried out in particular by the platform but also by the human being who was deployed, has radically changed the way interdepartmental coordination and collaboration are operated. In itself, within the state, it is a revolution
Colonel Christophe Deshayes, Chief of Staff of the CNCS – Ministry of the Interior
A platform for the Authorities and the experience of Olympics
Proactive information management allowed for real-time response to concerns, minimizing the impact of minor incidents such as traffic delays to ensure that the event proceeds smoothly. For example, from the very first days, despite incidents on railway lines and at airports, flow management illustrated the effectiveness of CNCS, with rapid coordination between prefectures, ministries and operators such as SNCF. Social media and media monitoring also played a key role in assessing potential impacts and making informed decisions.
Monitoring social networks, where information flows faster than through traditional channels, has been a key element in managing JOPs. Suadeo has made it possible to follow these flows in real time to detect weak signals, anticipating and quickly disarming the risks of “bad buzz”.
It is in the detection of these weak signals, and the ability to process a large mass of information, that we have managed to bring back much information to our Authorities
Colonel Christophe Deshayes, Chief of Staff of the CNCS – Ministry of the Interior
Securing the Olympic torch relay demonstrated this efficiency, taking place without incident for the first time in several editions of the Games. Thanks to a technological “security bubble”, and the underlying interdepartmental collaboration, the authorities were able to control the safety and reputation of the event.
The implementation of the platform revealed the potential for collaborative work in crisis and event management, illustrating new practices in France. Experience has given birth to an aligned working community and collective expertise that can transform future crisis cells. The CNCS, currently dormant, has laid the foundations for a modern and adaptable Interdepartmental Crisis Centre (ICC), ready to reactivate its resources and tools for new challenges.
(1) Opinion #275 «The French view of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024», Ifop-Fiducial for Sud Radio – July 2024 (2) Odoxa sport barometer for Winamax and RTL – 25 August 2024
