Many Paris locals are split on having the Olympics, citing increased costs and disruptions. Video / NZ Herald
By Michael Burgess in Paris
Two days before the Olympics start on Saturday, Parisienne publishing editor Marie Verdenet will be on her way out of the French capital. Like tens of thousands of her compatriots, the 27-year-old can’t wait to leave Paris.
For most sports fans, the thought of having an Olympics in your hometown might seem like a dream, but a large proportion of Parisians view the impending games as a nightmare, forecasting chaos in the already clogged city. Paris is the most densely populated major city outside Asia – three times worse than London and twice as crowded as New York.
“I’m not sure about [the Games] because I’m one of the people that won’t be here during the Olympics,” Verdenet told the Herald. “I’m leaving when all the people are coming, for two months. Public transportation is going to be difficult – and I ride my bike, there are a lot of areas we can’t go and it is going to change my routine. I know it is exciting for people, but…”
Hip-hop singer Danitsa, 29, echoed a similar theme, as she sat with friends outside a city cafe, explaining her plans to leave the city on July 26.
“I wanted to escape the Olympics,” she told the Herald. “Fifteen million coming here, in the summer – it is going to be a mess and Paris is not ready for this situation. Like most of the Parisian people, they are going to be out, south or north, or Europe, to get away from the situation.”
Their sentiments are shared by many here over the polarising event. That’s standard for the Olympics, remember the protests in Rio or the angst in Tokyo, but seems more pronounced here, in a nation where people are unafraid to express their passion.
Access to the banks of the beloved Seine, the heartbeat of the city and the most popular spot to enjoy a summer break, has been cut off for weeks, due to the massive security concerns around the opening ceremony, staged outside a stadium in a first in Olympic history.
“That’s where we go, to see our friends, to relax, to enjoy,” said Nathan, 26, a creative director. “That’s our place. And now we can’t, for so long. It has all been handled wrong. [President Emmanuel] Macron runs this country like it is a start-up.”
That’s a visible concern but there are many more. Several subway stations are closed, including a stretch of three near the Champs-Elysees, and others have restricted access. Access to the squares and reserves beside the Eiffel Tower is difficult or prohibited. Cycling is popular here, thanks to an innovative city programme that provides pick-up, drop-off bikes at low cost, but many of the usual pathways are blocked or closed.
There’s been anger at relocations, including the removal of students from long-established housing – for use by officials during the Games – only for the accommodation to be deemed not up to standard months later.
Hip-hop singer Danitsa is choosing to leave Paris ahead of the Olympics.
In other sectors of the city, people have been moved out, though nothing on the scale of Beijing. There was also the controversial plan to clean up the Seine, with about $2.73 billion spent on it.
“Macron promised he would swim in it,” said Nathan. “But he hasn’t. No one is surprised.”
Local journalist Claudia Colliva said there are polarising views about the Games.
“If you’re talking about anyone actually involved in the organisation, like the city of Paris, the feeling is nothing but excitement and jubilance,” says Colliva. “If you ask people that have got tickets or who are coming here from abroad, the same.
“But if you ask your regular Parisians that never wanted their city to host the Olympics to begin with, they’re just as annoyed now, if not more than they were seven years ago when this was announced.
“Their city is barricaded off, transport tickets have gone up, they can’t move or go to their favourite places. It makes life hard.”
Colliva said the city has encouraged companies to allow people to work from home to limit movement among a saturated public transport system.
“I know plenty of people who were told months ago they would be remote – so those who can go have gone. The public transport is already overcrowded; you add millions coming to the city, that’s stress to a system that’s already stressed.”
The Seine programme has also been controversial. People have said: “France has plenty of coastline, so why?”
The main resentment, which Colliva stresses is not universal, is the amount of public spending on the Games and infrastructure, which could have been directed elsewhere. It’s a common complaint with every host Olympic city.
But for all the angst, there is also joy for a large proportion of locals in hosting the Olympics, a century after Paris held the 1924 Games.
“I’m very excited to have the Olympics here,” says Mathilde Channelie, 33, a media consultant. “I’ll be going to quite a few events.”
Entrepreneur Vincent Dupuy, 33 echoed those thoughts.
“It’s been 100 years. We are happy to welcome from all the people around the world to experience this.”
For her part, Colliva agrees.
“For me, it is quite magical,” said Colliva. “We have the Olympics, in Paris, at some of our most famous, emblematic venues. It’s something you’ll never forget.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
