In terms of safety, this is the ultimate full-scale test before the Olympic Games in Paris in summer 2024. Is France ready for the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on Friday, September 8 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (northeast of Paris)? "We're confident," said Jacques Rivoal, president of the public interest group (GIP) organizing the event. "There are regular meetings with government departments. The matter is being taken very, very seriously."

The fiasco of last year's Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid is still fresh in everyone's mind. On May 28, 2022, thousands of spectators tried to enter the stadium with forged tickets, blocking the turnstiles and causing chaos. A number of measures have been taken to prevent such a disaster from happening again. For example, there are more CCTV cameras around the Stade de France. And Michel Cadot, inter-ministerial delegate for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and major sporting events, tried to reassure MPs on April 5. There is now a "much more closely monitored flow management" of spectator arrivals to the site, he said.

In the end, the botched spring 2022 event may have served the interests of the Rugby World Cup organizers. "What happened gave us the opportunity to learn from experience. The inter-ministerial management of major sporting events and the parliamentary commission have all drawn lessons from it, which have reinforced certain strategic choices made well in advance, in particular the choice of digitized ticketing," said Rivoal.

In accordance with the new guidelines in force, the 2.2 million tickets sold for the competition are linked to specific names, digital and forgery-proof. In addition, an official ticket resale platform was launched in January, with the aim of preventing fraud, a black market with prohibitive prices and scams.

The Stade de France plays a central role in this World Cup, hosting the tournament's opening match between France and New Zealand, as well as two quarter-finals, two semi-finals, the final and the third-place play-off. Eight other venues also need to be secured, in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.

Each stadium has its own specific security arrangements, which can be adjusted according to the match schedule and the risk profile of the team's supporters. The number of security agents mobilized, likely to rise to a thousand at the Stade de France, could reach 300 around the Beaujoire Stadium in Nantes.

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