A special kind of iron curtain came down across central Paris on Thursday, with the beginning of an Olympic anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of the River Seine sealing off a kilometers-long (miles-long) area to Parisians and tourists who hadn’t applied in advance for a pass.

The words on many lips were “QR code,” the pass that grants access beyond snaking metal barriers that delineate the security zone set up to protect the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony on July 26.

“I didn’t know it started today,” said Emmanuelle Witt, a 35-year-old communications freelancer who was stopped by police near the Alma bridge while biking across town. She desperately went on her phone to fill out the online form to get her QR code, unaware that the vetting process could take several days.

Those with the precious code – either on their 추천 phones or printed out on pieces of paper – passed smoothly past police checkpoints at gaps in the barriers taller than most people.

Those without got mostly turned away – with no amount of grumbling and cajoling making officers budge.

“That’s too much, that’s over the top, that whole thing is a pain,” grumbled Nassim Bennamou, a delivery man who was denied access to the street leading to Notre Dame Cathedral on his scooter.

“Even the GPS is confused, I have no idea how I’m going to work today,” he added.