With just seven days to go before the start of the third Olympic Games in France, the first athletes have arrived in Paris and at the Olympic Village, located between the communes of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and Ile Saint-Denis, north of Paris. In addition to stricter security checks at the accommodation of most of the athletes, strict security measures are in place throughout the capital.

Access to the banks of the Seine has been restricted as the Opening Ceremony will take place there on the afternoon of 26 July. Navigation on the river will be completely banned for two days to ensure the safety of athletes, officials and world leaders.

On Thursday, thousands of French security forces sealed off a six-kilometre stretch of central Paris in preparation for next week's elaborate Olympic opening ceremony. In addition, 10 metro stations used daily by thousands of Parisians and tourists were closed.

Securing the Paris Games remains a top priority for the French authorities, with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin insisting on Wednesday that there was no "credible threat" at this stage.

Traffic was lighter than on previous days, with many motorists avoiding the city centre, and tourist numbers were lower than usual for this time of year as many Parisians also left the capital to avoid the disruption.

Residents, tourists and workers will only be able to enter the so-called "sensitive areas" if they show the police a QR code proving they live in the area, have a hotel reservation, restaurant booking or work permit.

"Our clientele has dropped by 50%," complained Renaud, a waiter at the famous Les Deux Magots café across the Seine from the Louvre. "Normally there would be a queue at the door," he added, pointing to the empty chairs on the café's terrace.

With the opening ceremony just a week away, organisers are putting the finishing touches to the temporary stages set up at iconic locations around the city, including the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and Place de la Concorde.

In many parts of the city, billboards, Olympic flags and other elements are being installed to add colour to the city.

The restrictions in the city centre have been exacerbated by the introduction of special Olympic lanes earlier this week, further complicating traffic. "The Games have brought us nothing but misery," lamented Rabah Ouanes, a 53-year-old taxi driver, who says traffic in the city has been "terrible" since April due to various construction projects.

"I have a lot of customers who abandon their trips when they see they have nowhere to go," he said. Thursday saw the official opening of the Olympic Village and the arrival of the first delegations of athletes, led by Colombia, Thailand and Australia. The 52-hectare site to the north of the French capital will eventually house around 14,500 people, including around 9,000 athletes.

On Thursday, "several hundred people, maybe between a thousand and two thousand", including athletes and support staff, were expected to pass through the gates of the village, an organising committee source told AFP.

Hours before the opening, organisers were working hard to make sure everything was perfect. "We are ready," Augustin Tran Van Chau, deputy director of the facility, told France Info radio on Thursday.

In addition to athletes and staff from the various delegations, there will of course be members of the organising team, employees of sub-contractors and the all-important volunteers. "It will be a real ant nest," predicted a member of the French Olympic movement.

The 573 athletes in the French delegation and 51 reserves (624 in all) will have a private training room of 170 square metres - the Village also offers a communal room - and a common room with a 5x3 metre television screen, board games and table football.