Gaol! France 1, Algerian Militants 0

France kicked off its World Cup soccer campaign today with a preemptive strike two weeks before the opening whistle. The French police coordinated with allies in five European cities to issue a yellow-card warning to Algerias Armed Islamic Group. At least 60 members and sympathizers were arrested in what appears to be less of a response to a specific threat or conspiracy, but a pre-emptive strike designed to wrong-foot elements who might be planning a world cup terror campaign, says TIME Paris correspondent Bruce Crumley. France is sufficiently aware of the terrorist threat to have conducted this swoop to put groups prone to terrorist attacks on the defensive, attacking their infrastructure and disorganizing them, says Crumley.

Of course Paris may yet have to deal with threats from Basque and Corsican insurgents, and even French truckers: In 15 blockades around the country Tuesday ahead of wage talks, more than 300 truckers turned roads into parking lots, implying that labor could threaten travel chaos for next month's tournament. But the unions may struggle to keep its members out on the barricades once television crosses live to France's kickoff against South Africa on June 12.