Tour de France bolsters security amid fears of protests and civil unrest

Lotto Dstny riders pass underneath the Mama spider sculpture during the team presentations at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

The Tour de France has ramped up security as race organisers brace themselves for a double dose of disruption, both from climate change activists and the threat of civil unrest in France.

The race director, Christian Prudhomme, said the promoters, ASO, are in “constant liaison” with the French government, following three nights of rioting across the country.