Paris is securing the Olympics and worrying critics [Video]

A year ago, the head of the Paris Olympics boldly declared that France’s capital would be ” the safest place in the world ” when the Games open this Friday. Tony Estanguet’s confident forecast looks less far-fetched now with squadrons of police patrolling Paris’ streets, fighter jets and soldiers primed to scramble, and imposing metal-fence security barriers erected like an iron curtain on both sides of the River Seine that will star in the opening show.France’s vast police and military operation is in large part because the July 26-Aug. 11 Games face unprecedented security challenges.Video above: Safety concerns persist as Olympic swimmers return to Seine River after a centuryThe city has repeatedly suffered deadly extremist attacks and international tensions are high because of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.Rather than build an Olympic park with venues grouped together outside of the city center, like Rio de Janeiro in 2016 or …