Cannes' glamour is overshadowed by huge anti-terror operation including warships, 160 metres of spiked chains and 400 giant flowerpots installed to stop Nice-style lorry attack

  • Heavily-armed anti-terror police have been deployed ahead of the film festival 
  • The French Navy sent the Commandant Bouan to Cannes as added protection
  • An additional 550 CCTV surveillance cameras have been erected around the city
  • French officials said the did not have any intelligence about a specific attack  

By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Anti-terror chiefs have placed 400 giant flower pots along the main promenade in Cannes to prevent suicide attacks during the film festival.  

The Cannes festival, which begins tomorrow, is the first since the attack in nearby Nice last July, when a Tunisian man drove a 19-tonne truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day on the promenade, killing at least 80 people.

The shoulder-high flower pots along the Cannes Croisette are supposed to acting as discreet concrete barriers that should stop any similar car or truck attack.

The French navy has deployed the Commandant Bouan to Cannes in advance of the festival 

The French navy has deployed the Commandant Bouan to Cannes in advance of the festival 

Armed police have been deployed to the streets of Cannes to assure guests and residents 

Armed police have been deployed to the streets of Cannes to assure guests and residents 

French authorities have dramatically increased security following the Bastille Day attacks

French authorities have dramatically increased security following the Bastille Day attacks

The police have also invested in 175 yards of spiked chains that can stop a truck, deployed extra forces and called on a battalion of civilians volunteers to inform them of any suspect activity.

Some 550 security cameras are keeping an eye on things, too, said Yves Daros, head of the municipal police.

Daros said: 'It's the densest (camera) network in France. In Cannes, we have a camera for every 140 inhabitants.'

France has been under a state of emergency since November 2015 when coordinated gun and bomb attacks in Paris killed 130 people and wounded 368. Just last month, a policeman was shot dead in central Paris - the most recent in a string of attacks claimed by ISIS.

The U.S. State Department has a long-standing travel alert for France and some other European countries, warning Americans to be on their guard around potential targets such as 'high-profile events'.

French authorities have no specific intelligence about any imminent threat but fear jihadis could be targeting the high-profile film festival between May 17 and May 28

French authorities have no specific intelligence about any imminent threat but fear jihadis could be targeting the high-profile film festival between May 17 and May 28

This year Will Smith and Nicole Kidman are believed to be among the A-listers at the event

This year Will Smith and Nicole Kidman are believed to be among the A-listers at the event

The French police have no information about a specific threat, but few events in France have a higher profile than the annual film festival. This year, Will Smith and Nicole Kidman will be among the Hollywood A-listers.

U.S. film critic Scott Roxborough said people were aware of the security risk, but not afraid to come.

'The talent might be a bit more worried about having to come to a festival and might not be 100 per cent secure, but given the fact that with the studios it's about money and about business, I think that overweighs things.'

The local police chief said that while budget cuts were hitting public spending around France, security was one area where expense was not being spared.

'The state has put in more resources this year than ever in the past,' Daros said.

The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to May 28.

Cannes Film FestivalFrance

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