Tom's Guide tested an incongruous object: a cell phone jammer hidden in a pack of cigarettes.

There are various models, which are said to have a radius of action of 5 to 50 meters, and are sold for between 50 and 200 euros. The tested one is quite economical: 80 euros for a radius of 8 meters. Vicious: "Its makers have resized [the box] to make room for the two actual cigarettes in the pack".

The appearance and legitimacy of the product are not as good as it should be. "One thing's for sure, it didn't pass customs," the tester noted.

But why buy such a device? A salesperson interviewed offered some explanations: Some people disrupt communications in public transport, some teachers want quiet in the classroom...

It all started when two mobile operators reported mysterious disruptions to their networks in and around Clermont-Ferrand. ANFR then dispatched two agents from Lyon. Their measurements confirmed that the signal was interfering with the mobile network from Clermont, but locating the source of the interference was "like finding a needle in a haystack in a city of 140,000 inhabitants".

Investigators will get there. The roof of their laboratory vehicle is equipped with a radio direction finder, a device that can locate the direction of the transmitter and direct them to a building in Clermont. Six elite police officers from the Belt and Road (Research and Intervention Team) then intervened. Balaclava, helmet, assault rifle, they tumble into the apartment, and in the drawer of the TV cabinet, we find a multi-band gps blocker.

Paris Olympics 2024: Lasers, Interceptors, jamming signal Rifles... These Weapons Against Drones

From lasers to drone sensor drones, with less than a year to go until the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, these weapons have been honed in the face of now very real threats from the skies.

How to effectively counter aerial threats in the form of nearly invisible machines at lightning speed over crowded stadiums without causing collateral damage? The security of the Paris 2024 Olympics will not be able to avoid this question. In response to any suspected drone intrusion during this global event, security forces will deploy an unprecedented arsenal.