Mr. Hollande acknowledged a heightened threat of terrorism during the soccer tournament but said France was taking all possible measures to keep fans safe. Some 130 people were killed in gun and bomb attacks by Islamic State militants on Paris last November.
 
Hollande said he had decided to maintain the planned fan zones where tens of thousands of spectators without match tickets can gather to watch games on giant screens. The biggest planned zone is next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
 
Some security officials and commentators have warned the enclosures and queues of fans waiting to enter them could be targets for potential attackers, stretching the resources of police and security firms in charge of protection.
 
But Hollande said: “I decided not only that the competition must go ahead, (but also) to keep the fan zones and make this into a European festival, a festival of the people, a sporting festival. We have done everything to make it a success”.