PARIS (NEWSnet/AP) — A different kind of iron curtain was installed across central Paris on Thursday, with the beginning of an Olympics anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of Seine.

A QR code grants access beyond metal barriers that delineate the security zone established to protect the opening ceremony on July 26.

The perimeter went into effect early Thursday and will continue until conclusion of the open ceremony.

Those with a QR code, either on a phone or printed on paper, passed smoothly past police checkpoints at gaps in the barrier.

Authorities announced the code system in 2023 and have been meeting with local residents for months to explain restrictions, but not everyone was aware. Many visitors were redirected to reach Paris’ most iconic monuments.

“We had no idea we needed a QR code,” said Takao Sakamoto, 55, who was denied access to Eiffel Towern. Visiting from Japan with his wife, he took a photo of the tower from a distance, behind the fences and police cars.

“That will do,” Sakamoto said, exasperated.

Visitors who were able to enter the restricted areas were treated to a rare sight of a nearly-empty center of Paris on a summer day.

“It’s surreal. It really feels like we’re the only ones here,” said Sarah Bartnicka of Canada.

Police were instructed to be polite and accommodating as employees on their way to work, and others, encountered the perimeter for the first time.

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