Around 50 khaki-clad men riding atop a black armoured truck approached an abandoned office building on the outskirts of Paris one spring morning and blew open a second-storey window with an explosive device.

After clearing shards of glass from the window frame, they shuffled through the gaping hole and into the graffiti-covered building in search of hostages - in reality junior members of the Gendarmerie - held inside.

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The training exercise, held in preparation for the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympic Games, was one of the final dress rehearsals for an event nobody wants to happen.

Founded 50 years ago after the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, in which 11 Israelis died in an attack by a Palestinian militant group, the GIGN is one of France's elite tactical units, responsible for freeing hostages, counter-terrorism operations and other high-stake raids.

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