With Europe on high alert, French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve says the deadly explosions in Brussels are a reminder that a "very high security level" will be required during this year's European Championship in France, reports ABC News Online.
Speaking hours after three explosions killed dozens in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, Cazeneuve said that everything will be put in place to guarantee "collective security" at the June 10-July 10 tournament, with the mobilisation of specially trained emergency staff, police forces and firefighters.
In the wake of the Paris attacks that left 130 people dead in November, France remains in a state of emergency which was recently extended to May 26, two weeks before the opening game.
Tournament organisers had strengthened security measures and made changes to the particularly vulnerable fan zones well before the events in Brussels.
Fan zones are typically set up in squares or parks near the centre of the city, allowing supporters to watch a game on a big screen. Security can be lighter than at stadiums.
About seven million supporters visited the fan zones in the host cities during Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, and there are concerns the designated Euro 2016 areas for the public could be targets for attackers.
Each fan zone can hold 10,000 to 100,000 people and French authorities want to maintain a festive atmosphere within those areas while protecting crowds.
French authorities last week used an open-air screening of a match to simulate a chemical attack that would be more devastating than the explosions near the Stade de France on November 13, when suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium while France was playing a friendly match against Germany.
Read more of this Associated Press report published by ABC News Online.