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The British press were clearly sharpening the long knives, preparing to roast the French while crowing about the success of the London 2012 Games. Throw in a last-minute Snap election that divided the country, a nation genetically predisposed to complaining, the mounting pressure — and you had all the ingredients for two weeks of chaos.

Drooling at the looming fiasco, The Telegraph of the UK promised:

In what has to rank as one of the nation’s biggest plot twists, the Paris Games 2024 was a rousing success by almost any quantitative or qualitative measure. The world saw two weeks of uncharacteristically joyful French people basking in the moment with furious pride. The French media scrambled to adjust, throwing out calls for people who fled Paris for the games and now regretted their decision to leave after seeing the iconic scenes on their TVs.

Speaking on Monday, Paris 2024 Games Director Tony Estanguet said, “I don't think it could have gone much better. I think these Games were even better (than he imagined). And yet, I remember that I was often treated as a bit of an idealist. We were crazy with this project, audacious. The first opening ceremony outside a stadium, the marathon open to the general public, breathtaking competition venues but maddeningly complex to operate.”

That joyful atmosphere reached a larger audience than expected, as NBC Universal reported record viewership boosted by a more elaborate streaming strategy. The Paris games will drive the largest ad revenue for any TV event in history, NBC told the LA Times. Since peaking with the 2012 London Games, Olympic viewership has been in steady decline. So much so that many critics were asking: Can Paris save the Olympics?

The answer seems to be resounding: Yes!

In their wildest fantasies, Paris organizers could not have dreamed of such gushing headlines in the international press:

• Paris lights the way to Los Angeles: France closes a Games marked by sporting, organizational, and social success, a reconciliation with the Olympic spirit after the Tokyo pandemic which raises the bar for the 2028 event. (El Pais)

• Paris, Uncharacteristically Giddy, Bids Au Revoir to the Olympics: A joyous Games, a cleaned-up Seine, and improvements to the region brought cheer to Parisians as they handed off the Summer Olympics to Los Angeles. (NY Times)

• Can’t borrow the Eiffel Tower, but L.A. 2028 Olympics can learn from Paris 2024 (Washington Post)

• Best Olympics of all time? Paris and London share the gold medal: The stereotype of the grumpy Frenchman went missing for 17 days as the city made the Games look more beautiful than ever. But it was the 10,000-plus athletes who put on a show to rival London 2012. (The Times of the UK)

• Paris Olympic fortnight sets a high standard for future Games: The Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which ended on Sunday night in a lavish closing ceremony, avoided the predictions of doom. 16 medal-winning summer days and nights for French athletes brought a new vision of success, both at home and abroad. (Radio France)

• Le feel-good games | Paris’s stunning vision for the Olympics wins a gold medal: The Paris games are drawing to a close on a note of ferveur olympique in the French capital. Once skeptical, the French have been won over, both by the performance of their athletes, who won more medals than at any previous Olympics, and the sheer beauty of the capital’s backdrops.” (The Economist)

“Something has come to light, and I think we've reinvigorated the Olympic Games with this edition,” President Emmanuel Macron said after the Games. “We've reinvented the Summer Games, we've recreated an enthusiasm that had been waning somewhat in recent years…I want to say how proud I am of the French men and women. There is one loser: the spirit of defeat. All those who have been telling us for seven years that it was crazy to host the Olympics. The opening ceremony on the River Seine was a security blunder, we'd never have enough medals, it would be a financial disaster, and we'd never be able to swim in the Seine...And in the end, we succeeded. We did it!”

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Sporting Results

The French finished 5th overall in medals, largely in line with expectations, though fewer Gold Medals than many had hoped. Still, the Games made swimmer Léon Marchand a global celebrity thanks to his 4 gold medals. And the French Women’s Basketball Team almost pulled off a stunning upset of the US Women’s Team.

That Mascot

Two years ago, the official Paris Games 2024 mascot was widely mocked for resembling a certain part of the female genitalia. However, the Phryge got the last laugh, proving popular with fans and viewers around the world.

According to Challengers newspaper, there were 1.5 million units of the Phryge items manufactured for the games, including stuffed toys, pajamas, hats, pens, and so on. The final sales numbers have not been released, but vendors reported strong purchasing trends, with 120,000 Phryges sold in just five days at Galeries Lafayette during the Games.

Security

With attacks on train lines just before the Games, the nation feared that predictions of chaos might be coming true. But this proved to be the only major event during the 15 days of the Games. Otherwise, a massive police presence, the controversial AI-powered video surveillance, and a strong cyber defense kept things moving smoothly. Overall, the city reported a drop in crime compared to typical periods in past years.

Transportation

“Even though everyone predicted an immense failure, we met the challenge,” said Jean Castex, head of the regional public transportation agency RATP. He has reason to boast. All the regional transportation services rallied to the cause and delivered reliable transportation through the Games.

The preparations for the Games included a recent extension of the Metro 14 line to reach the Stade de France which operated smoothly. More employees were on duty and and more trains ran more frequently, all without major problems, according to France Info. Compared to 2023, an additional 500,000 people used public transportation every day during the Games — 20% more than usual.

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La Seine

One of the most hyped storylines coming into the Games was the billion-euro effort to clean up the Seine River so that some events could be held in the famed waters. This was a nail-biter right until the end as heavy rains kept pollution levels too high until just a couple of weeks before the Games.

In the end, the waters cooperated, and the Games held the triathlon and marathon swimming courses in the Seine, creating yet another iconic image of athletes and this natural Parisian monument. Cameras captured swimmers passing the Alexander III Bridge, the Grand Palais, and the Invalides.

One cautionary note: There are still some disputed reports that a handful of athletes from Germany and Portugal became sick after swimming in the events. No official determination has been made about whether they were victims of a virus or were made ill by the water.

Tourism

The projections were bleak in the weeks leading up to the games as hotels and airlines reported large numbers of vacancies and a drop in passengers. In the end, the overall tourism numbers were strong.

According to the Paris Tourism Office, Paris hotels had an average occupancy rate of 84% during the two weeks of competition up from 74% during the same two weeks in 2023. While there was indeed a lack of international visitors, Paris recorded 11.2 tourists between July 23 and August 11 — 85% of them French.

As a result, the accommodation sector generated revenues of €652 million across France during that period — a strong showing after a weak June and early July due to weather that dampened travel.

Though it wasn’t the Best of Times for everyone. “Olympic fever filled the stadiums, but emptied museums,” according to Le Monde. The Louvre experienced a 22% drop in the number of visitors between July 27 and August 11, compared to the same dates in 2023, the Pompidou Centre was down 29%, the Musée d'Orsay fell 29%, the Musée d'Orangerie dropped 31%, and the Palace of Versailles declined 25%.

Opening And Closing Ceremonies

Overall positive, though of course some silly controversies and differing opinions on their entertainment value. Still, a new standard was set with the parade of boats on the Seine River (despite the rain) for the Opening Ceremony and the mix of performances of the Closing Ceremony. Indeed, the artists chosen by the LA Games seemed greatly diminished despite being far more famous.

Artistic Director Thomas Jolly only lamented the length of the Closing Ceremony (due to the athletes’ parade and the long-winded Olympic speech), according to Le Parisien:

“I'm delighted because we're all experiencing something quite unique. We could have hoped for it, but now we're seeing it. I used to talk about 'shared humanity', but yesterday (Sunday), the image that sticks in my head is the incessant flow of athletes,” Jolly said. “From a purely artistic point of view, it was sorely lacking in rhythm…but that's also the game of a ceremony…It's like the Césars, Oscars, or the Molières ceremony. It's too long but yes, that's the principle.”

The Final Word…

Here’s what a few of my favorite French Substack-ers had to say about the Games:

David Lebovitz Newsletter

Les Olympics

Paris really knocked it out of the ballpark last night. After getting caught up in the wave of skepticism (and grumbling) by Parisians about the Paris Olympic Games, the games are almost over and I had a blast. It was capped off by attending the women’s Beach Volleyball finals, which were medal rounds. And wow—what an event, what a night, and it was incredible to watch the world’s greatest athletes compete in a stadium that was undoubtably the best spot to be in the world last night. I doubt anyone else could top it. Walking into the stadium, which was built right under the foot of the Eiffel Tower, was an unforgettable experience and I was grateful to be a part of it…

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2 years ago · 331 likes · 98 comments · David Lebovitz

“The stifling crowds never appeared in Paris. Many blame the hotels raising prices 300%, and sky-high airfares. Plus there was the usual exodus from Paris by locals for their summer vacations, which happens every August, removing thousands of people from the city, many smug that they were escaping just in time before the nightmare began.

Too bad for them. For us who stayed, Paris turned into one big party and by all measures the 2024 Paris Olympics was a hit.”

The New Paris Dispatch

The Paris Olympics Legacy? Joy.

It’s fitting that the end of the Olympic Games (the first part, anyway— the Paralympics begins August 28!) coincides with the end of summer, creeping ever closer, and all the blues that go with it. But France, and Parisians especially, have reason to remain joyous and optimistic a bit longer— the Games were a smashing success and …

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2 years ago · 27 likes · 11 comments · Lindsey Tramuta

“It’s fitting that the end of the Olympic Games (the first part, anyway— the Paralympics begins August 28!) coincides with the end of summer, creeping ever closer, and all the blues that go with it. But France, and Parisians especially, have reason to remain joyous and optimistic a bit longer— the Games were a smashing success and fostered an atmosphere of euphoria palpable even to those who were watching from afar.”

The Paris Palette

A recap of the Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics are over and I don’t know what to do with myself…

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2 years ago · Moriah Costa

“I’ve never seen Paris more alive, yet empty. The crowds and chaos of the transport system did not happen. There were some crowds at some of the events, but no more than you’d expect at a sporting venue.”

Chris O’Brien

Castelnau-d’Aude

The Paris 2024 Games are done, and now Paris gets a small vacation before the Paralympics start later this month. But before the city turned out the lights and passed the torch to LA for 2028, the Closing Ceremony gave a variety of French musical stars the chance to step into the global spotlight:

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Victor le Masne

The official musical director for the Paris 2024 Games, he is part of the French synth-pop duo Housse de Racket. The Opening and Closing ceremonies reflected his eclectic tastes in music, from classic to pop to metal to…some songs that can’t be categorized.

Zaho de Sagazan

This 24-year-old singer-songwriter released her first album last year, “La symphonie des éclairs,” and it immediately became a massive hit. Earlier this year, it was named album of the year at France’s version of the Grammy’s. She kicked off the Closing Ceremony by singing “Sous le ciel de Paris,” the title song of a 1951 French film that Edith Piaf later covered.

Zahia Ziouani

She is one of France’s most renowned conductors. In 1998, she formed her orchestra, Divertimento Symphony Orchestra. Her life story was made into a 2022 film called Divertimento. During the closing ceremony, she conducted her orchestra in a performance of “La Marseillaise” arranged by le Masne and sung with the Maîtrise de Fontainebleau.

Pop Classics

The crowd in the stadium sang impromptu karaoke versions of 2 French cheeseball classics: Joe Dassin’s “Les Champs-Elysées”; and “Emmenez-moi” by Charles Aznavour. Warning: These are the Mother of all French Musical Earworms.

Benjamin Bernheim + Alain Roche

French tenor Benjamin Bernheim teamed up with Swiss pianist Alain Roche for an unforgettable new arrangement of “Hymne à Apollon”, which was written for the first Olympic Congress in 1893. Roche is known for playing from unusual positions, and on Sunday his piano was suspended in the air as Bernheim sang.

Mixtape: Phoenix + Angèle + Kavinsky + Air + VannDa

French Pop band Phoenix is one of France’s bigger musical exports, having been nominated for Grammy Awards and played at festivals like Coachella. Organizers gave them a 17-minute slot to do whatever they wanted. So the band invited several of their favorite collaborators to share the spotlight.

The band played their hits “Lisztomania” and “1901” in a sea of athletes to start and end the set.

They were joined on stage by Air, another “French Touch” icon, to play their hit “Playground Love.” That was followed by Belgian singer-songwriter Angèle and French DJ Kavinsky on the latter’s “Nightcall” and then Phoenix’s “If I Ever Feel Better.”

The band also had rapper VannDa join them on stage for “Funky Squaredance” and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig for “Tonight,” a recent collaboration.

Yseult

The Parisian singer-model Yseult got the final spot, performing “My Way,” the song made famous by Frank Sinatra. The original tune comes from “Comme d’habitude,” a song by Claude François, or “Cloclo,” the 60s and 70s French pop sensation. Claude’s version is a real downer, about a couple going through the motions of a dying relationship:

I get up / And I push you / You don't wake up / Comme d'habitude (As usual) / On you I pull up the sheet / I'm afraid you're cold / Comme d'habitude / My hand caresses your hair / Almost in spite of myself / Comme d'habitude / But you turn your back on me / And then I get dressed very quickly / I leave the room  

Alas, poor Cloclo dreamed of success in the Anglophone world, but never quite achieved it. His career was cut short in the late 1970s when he electrocuted himself changing a light bulb while he was taking a shower. His life story was told in the 2012 biopic “Cloclo.”

Claude’s closest brush with international success came when Paul Anka heard the tune and rewrote the lyrics into an anthem for Sinatra released in 1969. That soaring version provided a fitting closing tune for Yseult, the professional name of 29-year-old Yseult Marie Onguenet, who has indeed done it Her Way.

Her debut album, Yseult was a flop in 2015. She was angry by the lack of support from her label, Polydor, so she broke her contract, set up her independent label, and subsequently became an international star.

While the LA Game organizers assembled performers with much bigger names for their part of the Closing Ceremony, I don’t think anyone would argue that these Mega Stars were overshadowed by the performances of the French artists.

Good luck, LA 2028!

Chris O’Brien

Castelnau-d’Aude

The French Men’s Basketball Team needed to play a perfect game to defeat the U.S. Men’s Team on Saturday night to win the Gold Medal. They did not. Missed easy shots. Clanked too many free throws (10-17). Let Steph Curry transform into Steph Curry during the last two minutes as he hit 4 shots beyond the 3-point line. Each one a tiny dagger into the dreams of gold for the French.

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The roster of the U.S. Men’s Team was heavily favored to win their 5th consecutive gold medal. Though it had some close games, the lineup packed with future Hall of Famers who have collectively earned more than $2.5 billion during their careers remains an inevitable force of nature.

Still, the French believed.

In the hours before the match, thousands gathered in the plaza in front of Paris City Hall to cheer for their team, a joyful atmosphere as fans sang the Marseillaise and prayed for the upset. In the stands during the game, President Macron sat with wife Brigitte and VP First Husband Doug Emhoff and later took a selfie with Jimmy Fallon.

In losing the game and winning their second consecutive silver medal, the French men’s team had no reason to be embarrassed. The defeat was nonetheless painful, coming on their home turf. Cameras caught French superstar Victor Wembanyama — who was the No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2023 — crying and hugging his mother.

After the French team received their silver medals, the crowd burst into a spontaneous Marseillaise to honor them, making for an electrifying moment.

Video via Twitter.

Round 2

France had a chance for revenge on Sunday when the Women played the US Women’s Team for the gold. While the French team has received less global attention than the men, they are also making an impact with four players who are currently on WNBA rosters:

1. Valériane Ayayi - San Antonio Stars

2. Marine Johannès - New York Liberty

3. Gabby Williams - Los Angeles Sparks

4. Iliana Rupert - Atlanta Dream

Once again, the Paris City Hall Plaza was filled with screaming fans, hoping for the best. Inside the arena, players from both men’s teams sat in the stands to cheer for their respective teams.

This time, the French women fought harder and played better, only to lose on an absolute heartbreaker. Down by 3 with three seconds left, France rushed the ball down the court and into the hands of Gabby Williams who launched an off-balance shot that went in at the buzzer.

Alas, her foot was on the 3-point line, and so the basket only counted for 2 points. Final score: US 67 - France 66.

Le Basket

Beyond NBA rookie of the year Wembanyama, France had four other NBA players on its roster: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves; Nicolas Batum, Los Angeles Clippers; Bilal Coulibaly, Washington Wizards; and Evan Fournier, recently with the Detroit Pistons. Three more players had prior NBA experience.

Canada (10) and (Australia (9) had more NBA players than France. But France’s place in the basketball world is on the rise.

In the 2024 NBA Draft, France became the first country outside the United States to produce three of the first top 10 picks since 1966:

• 1st Overall Pick: Hawks select Zaccharie Risacher

• 2nd Overall Pick: Wizards select Alex Sarr

• 6th Overall Pick: Hornets select Tidjane Salaun

They were joined by Pacome Dadiet and Melvin Ajinca who went respectively at No. 25 and No. 51 to the New York Knicks.

The NBA has made internationalization a key part of its business strategy, an effort that was catalyzed by the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and has now transformed the league. The last six MVP winners came from outside the U.S.

France’s emergence as a major center of basketball talent has become more evident over just the past few years.

Looking ahead to next year, France’s 2025 draft class is projected to include at least one high pick in guard Nolan Traore, plus two more players who have the potential to be drafted in the first round: forward Noa Essengue and guard Noah Penda.

Many of these players were inspired by French legend Tony Parker, who won four NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year. In this past season, Minnesota center and veteran Rudy Gobert was selected as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

The surge of interest can be seen across the country, which has been primarily known for success in football (Soccer) and rugby at the international level. (Also, Judo, where the French have won 10 of their 65 medals so far this year, but that’s another story.)

As for basketball in France, the Associated Press reported: “There are about 750,000 people registered with basketball clubs in France — nearly 70,000 more than two years ago and an increase of 170,000 since 2014. And that’s just the official count. Like in the United States, plenty of hoopers just grab a ball and find a court to shoot around or play in a pickup game.”

This trend is no random accident. In the mid-1970s, France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (INSEP) started an aggressive program to identify and train elite athletes in several sports, including basketball. Parker is an alumnus of this program.

France’s professional leagues also boost development. Young players don’t play at universities. Instead, they begin playing on youth teams that feed professional leagues at young ages. Wemby, for instance, began playing for a professional team at the age of 15, an experience that observers say prepares the best players for the transition to the NBA.

Beyond playing, the NBA is a cultural phenomenon in France (and in much of the world). The average person in France might not know Tom Brady, but they certainly know Michael Jordan.

That cultural currency is evolving in other ways. Sorare, a French startup that has developed an online fantasy sports league platform, struck a high-profile partnership two years ago with the NBA and the WNBA.

Le NBA À Paris

The French enthusiasm for basketball was on full display last January when the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers arrived to play a regular season game in Paris. It was the third such NBA match in Paris, and one of two international matches last season (the other was in Mexico).

The teams flew to Paris three days before the game, and their every move caused a media sensation. They organized basketball clinics, visited local youth teams, and posed for photos with fans throughout the week.

“It is a market that loves its sports and loves basketball in particular,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in an interview with USA Today that week. “I will tell you, the Commissioner (Adam Silver) and I had meetings last year with the president of the country, Emmanuel Macron, who is a huge fan.”

In advance of the match, the NBA announced a partnership with the French Basketball Federation to launch new programs for developing elite players. The NBA also disclosed that viewership of the league in France was up 23% over the previous season, including a 26% increase in NBA League Pass subscriptions, and a 70% increase in weekly viewers of the NBA app. In addition, the NBA sells more merch in France than anywhere else in Europe and the Middle East.

"Outside of the U.S. and Canada, France has delivered more players into the NBA than any other place around the world," Tatum said in his interview. "And then you couple that with the excitement around this young fellow Victor Wembanyama who is taking the world by storm, quite frankly, I would say that we're going to Paris when interest in basketball and the NBA is at an all-time high.”

Eight months later, France’s Olympic run confirmed this progress. The reactions of the French players after the game suggest that they are not content with being also-rans to the Americans.

That young fellow Wemby reaffirmed his belief that France should be considered at the top of the world’s basketball ranks.

“The only weight on my shoulders is the responsibility to my teammates,” Wemby said in an interview on Sunday. “The weight of ambition."

“We must stop putting [the US team] on a pedestal all the time," said teammate Nando de Colo, who believes France will have the weapons in the coming years to compete with the USA for Olympic Gold.

That may be more than an idle boast.

Chris O’Brien

Castelnau-d'Aude, France

It's beginning to look a lot like the Olympics

Everywhere you go

Take a look at the River Seine, it’s mostly safe to swim in again

Now that fecal levels are so low!

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Paris mayor swims in Seine as river is cleaned up just in time for Olympics

Anne Hidalgo fulfills pledge after cleanup operation makes water quality safe enough to host events at Games. (The Guardian)

French sports minister swims in Seine ahead of Olympics

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea Castera took the plunge and swam in the River Seine on Saturday, in a publicity moment that French authorities hope will show the capital's river is clean enough and ready to stage swimming events at the Olympic Games. (Reuters)

It's beginning to look a lot like the Olympics

Unsold mascot merch in every store

But the prettiest sights to see are the homeless that will be

Bused far away from Parisians’ front doors!

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France Is Busing Homeless Immigrants Out of Paris Before the Olympics

The government promised housing elsewhere. We followed the buses and found a desperate situation. (The New York Times)

44,000 fences lining the streets and a QR code needed to go out to eat

Are the scourge of every Colette and Jean

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Paris transformed into city of metal and QR codes as security ramps up for Olympics

Barricades and restricted zones set up as city center experiences militarisation not seen since the Second World War (The Guardian)

Hundreds of roads that are blocked and random metro stations that are shut

Are a nuisance for Chloé and Gabriel

A survival guide to Paris transport closures for the 2024 Olympics

Paris will be in the throes of Olympic fever from July 26 to August 11 for the 2024 Summer Games. Public transport routes will be revised and vehicle access will be restricted just as millions of visitors are expected in the city. Both residents and tourists are urged to review the revised routes and plan ahead. (France 24)

And Parisians can hardly wait for the Games to disappear again

Beefed-Up Olympics Security Thins Out Tourists, Squeezing Merchants

French businesses had hoped the Games would bring an economic boom, but metal fences and police checkpoints have turned some areas of Paris into dead zones. (NY Times)

It's beginning to look a lot like the Olympics

Everywhere you go

There are rooms available in the Grand Hotel, and dozens in the Ritz as well

The discounted kind that you typically can’t afford!

Paris hotels struggle with low demand as Olympics approach

Last July, the official statistics office of France, Insee, reported that hotel occupancy rates in Paris averaged 90.7%.

This means that in a hotel with 100 rooms, less than 10 would be unoccupied on any given night. However, the current numbers project up to 40 unsold rooms may be available during the 2024 Olympics. (Euronews)

Paris Hotels Slash Prices 41% From Peak to Lure Olympic Visitors

Hoteliers have given up on the dream of charging triple their normal rates. But for some, cutting prices may be too little too late. (Bloomberg)

It's beginning to look a lot like the Olympics

Soon the Opening Ceremonies will start

And what will make you cringe are the awkward songs they will sing

That make Eurovision look like art

Arielle Dombasle sings her "Olympics" hymn at Paris City Hall to welcome the Olympic Flame

Gwen Stefani x Anderson .Paak – Hello World (Song of The Olympics™) Official Video

Ahead of Paris 2024, The Coca-Cola Company has teamed up with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to celebrate the power of sport and music with a new song named ‘Hello World’.

The song was written and produced by songwriter, producer and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani performs the single alongside eight-time Grammy Award-winning producer singer-songwriter Anderson .Paak. (Olympics)

It's beginning to look a lot like the Olympics

AI-driven video surveillance on every corner

But the prettiest sight to see is the machine-gun-toting police

Kicking down your own front door

At the Olympics, AI Is Watching You

A controversial new surveillance system in Paris foreshadows a future where there are too many CCTV cameras for humans to physically watch. (Wired)

With AI, jets and police squadrons, Paris is securing the Olympics — and worrying critics

A year ago, the head of the Paris Olympics boldly declared that France’s capital would be “ the safest place in the world " when the Games open this Friday. Tony Estanguet’s confident forecast looks less far-fetched now with squadrons of police patrolling Paris’ streets, fighter jets and soldiers primed to scramble, and imposing metal-fence security barriers erected like an iron curtain on both sides of the River Seine that will star in the opening show. (Associated Press)

Zut alors, it's the Olympics once more!

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

Paris is about to throw the world’s biggest sports party and the whole nation is…totally distracted.

All eyes are on the European Cup where the French play Spain on Tuesday after the Blues limped into the semi-finals while only scoring 3 regulation goals in five games. Meanwhile, the Tour de France is bulldozing its way across the French countryside for 2 more weeks. And, of course, today there is Round 2 of the legislative elections after President Buzzkill decided to pull the plug on the National Assembly.

“The atmosphere has been gloomy,” lamented Le Parisien. "Thirty days before the opening ceremony, we should nevertheless vibrate with excitement to see the biggest sporting event in the world take place on our territory, to imagine our athletes breaking all records, to rejoice at the idea of ​​building collective memories around their exploits. Instead, political polarization is reaching new heights, eroding the sense of unity so crucial to the success of the Games, and preventing us from looking forward to what should be a great celebration.”

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Polls are showing that the far-right Rassemblement National party is fading just a bit as the other parties unite against them. Still, the specter of the nation being forced to welcome a far-right Prime Minister just as the world rolls into town has definitely dampened the mood. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is trying her best to put on a brave face, insisting that she’s not going to let politics poop on the Olympic parade she’s been planning since 2017, though she was clearly irked that Macron called the snap election on the eve of her big moment.

“The party will not be spoilt,” Hidalgo said in an interview on France 2. “I say to visitors from the world over – come over! Because Paris is a city that stands up for freedom and is a city of resistance against the extreme right.”

At the same time, Hidalgo was adamant that she would not be photographed with the man likely to be prime minister — Jordan Bardella — should the far right be in a position to form a government.

Awkward!

Cleaner Waters

Speaking of poop, the Seine River has, at long last, passed its E.Coli test as officials declared last week that pollution had finally fallen enough to make the water safe for humans.

France has spent €1.4 billion over several years, determined to make the Seine River clean enough for real humans to swim in it for events during the Olympics, including the open-water swimming competition and the swimming leg of the triathlon.

Nature has kept them in suspense all year.

Unusually high rainfall this year kept pollution levels higher than expected as organizers fretted and prayed for sunshine. Paris has built extensive new infrastructure to prevent runoff from the streets spilling into the river. But the heavy rains have overwhelmed that system at times. Those heavy rains even forced organizers to postpone a rehearsal of the opening ceremony that is supposed to take place on the Seine. Just two weeks ago, E.Coli bacteria levels remained 10 times too high to be safe for humans one month before the games.

But, the sun has come out, pollution levels have dropped, and Olympic officials are feeling relieved — for now. Whether that holds will depend on the weather.

Meanwhile, Mayor Hidalgo has said she plans to dive into the Seine for a swim sometime during the week of July 15.

Where The International Tourists Aren’t

Just as officials have been warning for the past year, the Olympics are not proving to be the international tourist magnet that many had expected.

Air France-KLM revealed last week that it projects a loss of possibly €180 million ($193 million U.S.) during the current quarter because those international tourists are steering clear of Paris during the games.

“International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,” the carrier said in a press release. “Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France seem to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympic Games or considering alternative travel plans.”

Forbes noted that the Paris tourism office “recently forecasted a 14.8% drop in foreign arrivals in July 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.” Even Emily in Paris is going to Italy this year. Ouch.

At the moment, industry data indicates that Paris hotel bookings are also falling short, with the highest occupancy rates being 77.8% for Saturday, July 27 when there are a large number of medal events. Opening night stands at 77.7%, while the rate falls to 59.8% on Sunday, 11 August, the final night competition.

In July 2023, the average occupancy rate was 81.4%, according to the national statistics agency Insee.

Still, an independent study suggested the games will have an economic impact between €6.7 billion and €11.1 billion thanks to spending on infrastructure, other French tourists, and the long-term usage of new facilities.

In Closing…

Organizers have started to tease details of the Closing Ceremony scheduled for August 11. The Olympic Artistic Director Thomas Jolly has created a show called "Records” that will be performed at the Stade de France:

Featuring over a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers and circus artists, this visual spectacle will bear the signature of artistic director Thomas Jolly. An original soundtrack, new interpretations, musical performances and the participation of world-renowned singers will complete the picture. Part of the show will take place in the air, while the giant sets, costumes and spectacular lighting effects will take spectators on a journey through time, both past and future.   

French athletes will be dressed up for the occasion wearing outfits designed by the French luxury brand Berluti featuring its “signature burnished look,” which includes a “uniquely Berluti white shirt and midnight-blue tuxedo jacket with a burnished lapel in the colors of the French flag.”

If all of this has gotten you super psyched to attend the Closing Ceremony, then here’s some good news: Only 60% of the tickets have been sold! Plenty of seats remaining, so don’t be shy.

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

This whole Olympic thing is getting a lot more real. Walking across Paris, a visitor will encounter a frenzy of bandstands being erected and an endless series of big and small nods to the games in the form of decorations and icons and Olympic merch.

But the real action this week was in France’s 2nd-largest city to the south. After 12 days of crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Greece, a large wooden ship called the Belem arrived in the Old Port of Marseille early on May 8 carrying the Olympic Flame. More than 1,000 boats and 150,000 spectators were on hand to welcome the symbolic start to the Games.

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If you live in France and are not an Olympic torchbearer, you are basically the only one. During its 11-week journey, the torch will be carried by 10,000 people through 450 towns before finally landing in Paris on July 26.

“It’s fantastic to give that sense of pride to the French people and to show to the whole world what we’re capable of achieving,” French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told the AP. “We’re going to give happiness to the whole world.”

The event also included the debut of the official theme song of the Paris Games called “Parade” which was composed by Victor le Masne. The Marseille orchestra performed it live for the first time from the Palais du Pharo. This isn’t the live version, but you can hear an extract of the song that blends classical-disco-boogie-techno (don’t even ask me to explain) on this Olympic hype video from the Marseille ceremony.

Culture War Games 2024

The official posters for the Paris 2024 Games were unveiled at the Musée d'Orsay. And, of course, it was the perfect setting to launch yet another culture war.

In this case, the posters depict what organizers describe as a “phantasmagorical city.” French designer Ugo Gattoni, best known for his collaborations with luxury brands, created a fictional city where famous Paris landmarks are smooshed inside a stadium. Plenty of little symbols of French culture and the Olympics are hidden throughout the poster, which has a Where’s-Waldo-On-Acid vibe. (Or, as the French call him, “Charlie.”)

The official announcement noted that it took Gattoni more than 2,000 hours of work across 6 “intense” months to create the poster. Apparently, nobody told him that he could have done this in 30 seconds with GenAI, but, whatever. As part of the design, he “reinterpreted monuments of the capital, the symbols of France, the different competition sites of Paris 2024, numerous sports and characters.”

Alas, that reinterpretation managed to infuriate the increasingly-less-fringe elements of French politics who saw it as yet another attack on French values and identity. Why? Well, if you squint super hard at the domed building (Les Invalides) left of the Eiffel Tower, there is a spire on top instead of the cross that sits there in real life.

(Side note: We recently visited the Invalides and there were, like, a thousand holes made by rabbits who have decimated the whole grounds. And, as it turns out, they are playing havoc with the sprinkler system. The city estimates they have caused €366,000 in damage and are trying to get them declared a nuisance so they can take extreme measures to deal with it, such as catching them or even going Fatal Attraction on them. Environmentalists and animal rights groups are fighting back, insisting that we just have to learn to live with animals. The Paris mayor is already taking flak for cutting down some old, diseased trees in the city. If she starts murdering cuddly little baby bunnies I’m pretty sure riots will break out. Still, Paris is being devoured by rabbits and it just feels like we’re not talking about this enough!)

Anyways, the Invalides…Removing the cross caused conservatives to lose their minds. Naturally, out came the w-word. The French right has become obsessed with “woke” (or, as they call it le wokisme), an American disease they fear is multiplying faster than those Invalides rabbits. And even worse (and I hope you’re sitting down for this next part), the poster does not include…the French flag!

As right-wing National Assembly-person Eric Pauget huffed on Twitter (one of only many):

“The cross at the top of Les Invalides ... erased. The French flag ... totally absent. The #wokisme which advocates the erasure of our history, our Judeo-Christian roots, our identity is very present, even the Olympics are paying the price!”

Zut, alors!

Ah, but that was only the start of the official Culture War Games. As I wrote earlier this week, French singer Aya Nakamura — who is of Mali descent — was rumored to be performing at the Olympics opening ceremony, possibly singing a song by French legend Edith Piaf. That produced the predictable racist backlash from France’s conservative corners, who insist they are just protecting the culture and the language and really aren’t racist at all.

Olympic Lost And Found

As the Games draw closer, the drumbeat of Olympic news grows louder.

Construction has been completed on the 52-hectare village in the suburb of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, just north of Paris. The village will welcome 14,500 athletes and staff for the Olympics and then 9,000 for the Paralympics. When the Games are done, the plan is to turn the village into an eco-friendly neighborhood with housing for 6,000 people, plus 2 schools, a public park, shops, offices, and pedestrian areas.

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Meanwhile, there was brief Panic On The Streets Of Paris when a city hall employee reported that his bag had been stolen on a train. The ever-reliable Internet informed us that that bag may have contained sensitive security plans for the event. Yikes! But, in the end: Nope.

While the employee did lose his computer and a USB memory stick, they did not contain the security plans, according to The Guardian (if you look at the URL for the story, it says bag-containing-security-plans-for-paris-olympics-stolen-from-french-train.)

However, the USB key did include info about traffic management plans for the Games. There is now an official investigation underway to find the culprit and try to avert any traffic-related mischief.

But the bigger traffic chaos could be caused by a planned strike of public transportation and public sector workers. (And garbage collectors are now threatening their own strike.) Their union has officially filed notice that they plan to strike during the Games because they want more social and financial support in terms of extra pay as well as housing and daycare. The Games are going to require extra hours and scramble schedules, and the union believes the government is not doing enough to address the impact on workers.

Shrinking Seine Spectators

The French government has backed away from an ambitious plan to let 600,000 people watch the Opening Ceremony for free along the banks of the Seine. Officials cited security and logistical issues, including a decision not to clear out the booksellers along the rivers that had provoked so much controversy.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin now says there will be a total of 300,000 spectators allowed — 104,000 with paid tickets and 222,000 who can watch for free along the river, according to The Independent. “To manage crowd movement, we can’t tell everyone to come,” Darmanin said. “For security reasons that everyone understands, notably the terrorist threat of recent weeks, we are obliged to make it free but contained.”

The Games are already posing a massive security challenge, especially this ceremony which will be the first Olympic opening not held in a closed stadium, according to The New York Times. Athletes will float down the Seine on barges across a 3.5-mile stretch. The task will be complicated by the fact that organizers are having a hard time attracting enough security workers for the games, according to the Washington Post.

And then there is the weather, and the race to ensure the Seine will be clean enough for some of the water events planned for the river.

La Purge

As part of the effort to sanitize Paris’ image ahead of the Games, it appears that the city is cleaning up what one group has labeled the “undesirables.”

These include clearing out squatters camps of refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented immigrants, mostly from Africa, who were camped too close to the Olympic Village for comfort, according to the Libération newspaper. Le Monde reports also that migrant camps are being scuttled: “For several months, local organizations have been denouncing what they call the ‘social cleansing’ of the Paris region. They claim that authorities are clearing the city's most impoverished residents off the streets in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games.” Apparently, not even working on construction crews for Olympic sites offered immigrants and undocumented workers much protection, according to a NY Times investigation.

Meanwhile, The Local says that a report from a coalition of 17 non-government organizations that support sex workers "shared the same conclusion as to the increased repression and sometimes changes in police practices…The approach that we characterize as 'repression first' has obvious consequences on the security and health of sex workers.”

While local officials fear a flood of sex workers arriving for the Games, the non-profits say that’s nonsense. Instead, they urged police to focus their efforts on criminal rings that prey on prostitutes.

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

As a recent email reminded me, we are only 2 months away from being 100 days away from the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking a non-milestone that proves anything around the Games can be turned into a marketing opportunity.

Indeed, there is no escaping the hype machine, which is being turned up to 11. Earlier this month, there was the unveiling of the Olympic medals with great fanfare. The medals were designed by House of Chaumet, a jeweler owned by luxury gargantuan LVMH which is the Games’ Sugar Daddy.

One side of the medals is adorned with a scrap of iron from the Eiffel Tower, cut into a hexagon shape (mainland France is referred to as the Hexagon because it kinda sorta has borders on 6 sides). The iron was collected over the years during various renovations. Thank goodness for pack rats!

Dig it:

Speaking of French icons, those scrappy booksellers that line the Seine won’t be sent to the guillotine after all. (Please note that sentence actually includes 3 French icons!) President Macron declared that they can keep their heads — and their ramshackle book stalls during the games. The Paris police had planned to remove hundreds of them, arguing that they represented a security risk. The fate of the bouquinistes had attracted worldwide attention and the obligatory online petition. A Macron spokesperson called them the “living patrimoine of the capital.” And so, after years of planning, the coppers will have to draw up a new security plan.

Meanwhile, Parisians seemed surprised to learn that having the Olympics in their city might pose certain inconveniences. Like large chunks of Paris are being closed to cars. Perhaps even more alarming, city dwellers are starting to come to terms with some of the competitions that have been declared Olympic sports, which include “3x3 basketball competitions…as well as skateboarding and breakdancing.”

On the tourism front, the Games are also looking like they will be a bit of a mixed bag. In 2023, France experienced another rise in tourism that put the number of visitors back to pre-pandemic levels. Yeah! Looking ahead, however, economic development officials are trying to tamp down expectations for international tourism during the Games.

Officials are projecting 15 million tourists in Paris during the Games, according to Le Parisien. However, the vast majority of these tourists are expected to be…French.

“One takeaway is that foreign clients will be less plentiful, we will have many French nationals, notably people from the Paris region,” explained Tourism director Corinne Menegaux. The breakdown is expected to be 13.4 million Frenchies, and 1.9 million non-Frenchies. Among the more shocking effects, Menegaux said: “We’re going to hear more French spoken in the streets of Paris this summer than a normal summer.”

Security continues to be the source of much planning. As plans came into focus, French police realized that they were going to have to pay the steepest of all prices: A ban on all vacation time in August. So, in the grandest of French traditions, they successfully went on strike for more pay and better support for things like housing and childcare during the games.

Otherwise, preparations seem to be proceeding with unusual calm. (Jinx!) The construction work for various Olympic sites is more or less on schedule. That includes the Olympic Village.

Finally, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, as part of her New Year’s speech, promised that she would swim in the Seine this summer. She invited other city council members to join her. You’ll recall that France is spending a bazillion euros to clean up the Seine, a heavily polluted river thanks to the wide swath of industrial sites that line it outside of Paris and all that dog poop that Parisians don’t pick up off the sidewalk and then gets washed into the river during heavy rains.

The plan is to hold the Olympic opening ceremony on the Seine along with events like the triathlon. “We will bathe in the Seine,” Hidalgo declared.

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games are hurtling toward Paris like an errant asteroid. Organizers are projecting that 1 million people will come to France to watch some part of the games in just 10 months.

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One might assume that such a tidal wave of humanity would be an economic boom. But one would be wrong, according to a recent report by the Bank of France, which attempted to lower expectations of an Olympic economic bonanza, per Le Parisien:

Bosses and representatives of the sectors concerned (security, hotels, catering, construction) and interested in the organization of this global event (July 26 - August 11) learned that they should not expect any miracles.

“Just as there was no wow effect in London in 2012 (the British capital was organizer of the Games that year), the effects will not be macroeconomic in Île-de-France. The Games will, however, have an impact on certain sectors and sectors, certain companies and on certain territories,” put into perspective Vincent Biausque, deputy to the regional director in charge of the Olympics at INSEE.

In London, the occupancy rate of hotels had only reached 88.5% over the period of the Games. As for attendance at historical monuments and museums, it had experienced a decline at that time.

Darn. But meanwhile, here at ground zero, the action is already heating up.

Investigators have searched the offices of the organizing committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as well as the event agencies responsible for the opening ceremonies.

According to the AFP, the visit by financial investigators was “part of a preliminary investigation for illegal taking of interest, favoritism and concealment concerning several markets linked to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.” The greatest of all Olympic traditions!

Among the red flags: The dude in charge of the opening ceremonies, Thierry Reboul, used to run an event company that merged with several other event companies to create a larger event company that was then hired by the Olympic committee. Reboul had sold his shares, but still…

In a press release, the Paris 2024 committee confirmed the visit by financial investigators and said it was “fully collaborating with the investigation as it has always done.”

This follows searches of the headquarters of the Organizing Committee in Saint-Denis and at the headquarters of Solideo, the company overseeing the construction of venues for the games.

You may recall it’s been an exciting year for accusations of corruption and conflicts of interest for Olympic organizers. France’s Olympic Committee (CNOSF) Brigitte Henriques resigned abruptly as president earlier this year following accusations of corruption by her predecessor.

This all has prompted fun headlines like this one from Le Monde: “One year before the Games, the specter of scandal looms over the Paris 2024 Olympics.” To wit:

The wave of searches conducted in June, as part of two preliminary investigations led by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) has raised the threat of the event's key figures being implicated, even before the competition's opening.

These dramatic anti-corruption police operations took place at the COJOP headquarters and the public institution in charge of infrastructure, SOLIDEO. This was a "crushing blow" and "bad publicity a year before the Games," as COJOP's lawyer Charlotte Plantin acknowledged, "even though the committee is under close scrutiny and has endeavored to be exemplary."

Seine Swimming Remains Murky

One of the most hyped aspects of the Games is the attempt to clean up the Seine River so some water events can be held there. Promoters and politicians have been relentlessly talking up the massive expenditures (€1.4 billion) to make the polluted waterway swimmable for humans. In a daring move, organizers will hold the opening ceremonies on the Seine.

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Just one problem: the Seine remains a toxic swamp.

Record rains forced organizers to cancel several test events in late summer, including the Olympic triathlon and paratriathlon test events, and the Open Water Swimming World Cup. There was too much E.coli (aka, poop) in the water.

Organizers continue to insist the Seine will be ready.

“There is no solution to move the event; triathlon and open water swimming will take place in the Seine next year,” said lead organizer Tony Estanguet, in an interview.

The big challenge: Paris’ sewage system is ancient and a ton of water still runs off the streets and into the river. To address that, the government is building “the Austerlitz storage basin.” This mammoth project is supposed to capture at least some of that runoff and then transport it underground to a new water treatment plant. Think of it as a toilet bowl, but the size of 20 Olympic pools.

The problem is that it ain’t done. The Guardian reports:

"Yet the cavernous Austerlitz basin – a building site fringed by diggers and cranes – currently appears as the rest of the city’s Seine clean-up plans: incomplete. The goal is to have what is essentially a giant rainwater holding tank, measuring 50m wide and 34m deep, capable of storing up to 46m litres ready by spring. Once the rainwater is collected there, it will be transported via a tunnel beneath Austerlitz train station and the 350-year-old Pitié-Salpêtrière University hospital beside it, beneath the river, to a downstream treatment plant. When levels of Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci meet the safety thresholds, it will be passed back into the Seine.

This €1.4bn construct is now the great hope, organisers tell me, for the Games, the city, and beyond; a vital step in preventing further pollution of the 777km (482-mile) waterway

Spring will be cutting it close.

Those Booksellers…

When my mom came to visit Paris last year, the No. 1 thing she wanted to see: those famous booksellers ("bouquinistes") along the sidewalks above the Seine. But with Paris officials ordering them to clear out for the Games, they have become martyrs whose cause had been embraced across France.

Regulation of these stands is as murky as the Seine River. So the book brigade continues to fight back, insisting a bit more security would be sufficient to deter terrorists from turning their book shacks into shanty bombs.

They have declared once again their refusal to leave, which either means local authorities will have to find a compromise or force them to leave. And the latter will certainly not generate the kind of viral TikTok videos that the Olympic Games want.

Let Them Eat…Muesli With Quinoa!

• In other fun news, chefs in charge of preparing meals for Olympic athletes are emphasizing vegetarian faire. "When there are 40,000 meals per day, I don't want anyone to be let down. I want people who eat kosher to eat with me, people who eat halal, the Christians and Buddhists too," Michelin-starred chef Akrame Benallal said in an interview. “It's vegetables that unite everyone.”

• The New York Times notes that: “With Paris gearing up to host the 2024 Olympics — and with 150 million euros worth of sponsorship by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton — it is little wonder that some of the museums in the French capital are exploring the growing intersection of fashion and sports.

• Some good news: President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Andrew Parsons declared in an interview with Le Monde that he believes the 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8) will be “revolutionary” in terms of promoting inclusion. While Parsons had previously declared Paris’ transportation networks to be bad for people with disabilities, he praised the city for spending €125 million to make the metros and buses more accessible.

Finally, here is an Olympics hype video that rewrites the Marseillaise (fortunately leaving out the bits about slitting people’s throats) into a stirring anthem for the Games:

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

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As the drumbeat of the Olympic Games grows louder, Parisians are starting to get a taste of the event’s grand traditions.

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There is the planning of the torch relay. The preliminary events to decide who will compete. The political in-fighting over the preparations. The backlash against soaring costs. The outrage over ticket prices. The freakout over security measures.

Most importantly, there is the ritual herding of the homeless and other poor people into little boxes hidden from sight for the duration of the Games to create the temporary appearance of an urban utopia that looks pretty on TV.

When one is planning a major global sporting event to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, it turns out that poor people selfishly taking up space in low-income housing are a real nuisance. The owners of these properties are planning to jack up rates during the Olympics, and they’re not about to let a bunch of poor and homeless wreck a good thing.

So the French government is trying to figure out where to send them. The poor, not the property owners.

According to Le Monde, “From mid-March, the government began asking officials around France to set up ‘temporary regional accommodation facilities’ that could handle an outflux of homeless people from the capital, many of them are migrants.”

Olivier Klein, France's junior housing minister and deputy of human empathy, has explained to lawmakers that, “Many low-end hotels that authorities use to provide emergency accommodation to homeless people plan to rent their rooms at market rates to sports fans and holidaymakers.”

In addition to the Games, France is also hosting the Rugby World Cup starting in September. With those hotels taking up to 4,000 rooms off the market for those events, the government would like to ship many of these folks to regions outside of Paris.

To the surprise of perhaps no one, these non-Parisian regions are not super thrilled about the idea of Paris putting its tired, poor, huddled masses on buses and sending them to their non-Parisian regions. Just ask Yannick Morez, mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in western France, who resigned last month after his support for a center for asylum seekers in his town led far-right protestors to burn down his house.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is quick to remind everyone that it’s not the city pushing people out, but rather the lack of a more coherent national housing plan. “There is absolutely no question of chasing anyone from Paris. None at all. Nobody will be forced to leave, nobody will be obliged to go the other end of France,” she told The Guardian. “Paris will continue to play its part, but the state must solve this. For years I have asked the government to come up with a plan and they have not.”

Perhaps, but that hasn’t stopped police from clearing out a large migrant squat where 600 people were inconveniently seeking shelter just around the corner from the main Olympic Village. Like London, Beijing, and Brazil and, well, just about every Olympic venue, the games can be a great excuse for gentrification.

“In order to build a temporary space that represents ‘friendship between peoples,’ we are evicting a sustainable space and putting a whole population back on the streets,” Paul Alauzy, the coordinator of sanitary missions at Médecins du Monde, a health NGO, told New Lines. “It seems completely grotesque.”

France’s sports minister, however, warned against blaming the Olympics for all the social-economic problems in France.

“We shouldn’t make the Olympics the scapegoat of all our frustrations. It’s important not to distort the facts and blame the Olympic Games for all our social problems,” French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told France 2 television, according to The Guardian. “I don’t want us to mix everything up. We do have major challenges over emergency shelter, but it’s not the Olympics’ fault.”

Passing The Baton

Otherwise, things are going like clockwork at the Olympics. Unless you count the abrupt resignation of the president of France’s Olympic Committee (CNOSF) Brigitte Henriques.

The former French soccer star announced her resignation late last month at the start of a general assembly meeting for the French Olympic Committee. While she gave her reasons at the meeting, the committee didn’t share them with the outside world.

However, Le Monde reported that: “The case that prompted Ms. Henriques to leave has become over time a complex web of accusations – mixing abuse of social good, psychological violence, defamation, excessive expenses or expense reports – between the president of the CNOSF, her predecessor, Denis Masseglia, and his former general secretary, Didier Séminet. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened two preliminary investigations.”

Indeed, her departure follows several months of controversy that had taken on soap opera-like dimensions.

Henriques had been the target of accusations by her predecessor, Denis Masseglia, 75, who had been calling for her resignation and threatening to file legal complaints for "abuse of social good" with financial regulators. He claimed Henriques had filed inappropriate expense reports for things like consulting services related to the Games.

Meanwhile, Henriques became embroiled in a legal fight with Didier Séminet, former president of the French Baseball (yes, Baseball) and Softball Federation. Henriques accused Séminet of "psychological violence" and "defamation" while Séminet filed a complaint against Henriques for “slanderous denunciation” and “abuse of social property.”

Just for kicks, Masseglia began denouncing Henriques publicly: “She has become not only my greatest enemy but the main ambassador of her own hatred towards me. It's sad!”

While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) typically stays out of such internal disputes, the IOC reportedly asked everyone to chill because this was not helping the Games’ image. Because if there is one thing we can say with absolute certainty, it’s that the Olympics Games have never been tarnished by corruption or controversy.

It’s unclear what finally prompted Henriques to go, but the Paris committee must now organize an election to choose her replacement.

“There is no winner today,” Sports Minister Oudéa-Castéra told Le Parisien. “But there can be a victory, that of the ethical and democratic leap of the CNOSF, which must now come together, bounce back… I have confidence in the resilience of French sport, and am more than ever by its side.”

The Price Tag

Otherwise, everything is fine. Just fine. More or less. Except for the budget, which has the IOC a tad nervous. RFI reported that IOC official Pierre-Olivier Beckers, the lucky dude looking over the shoulder of the Paris committee, “voiced concern about the work needed to balance the budget.”

The French national auditing agency published a report recently noting that "substantial uncertainties remain, notably for domestic partnerships." The Paris committee has hard a time closing a sponsorship deal with luxury giant LVMH.

Mayor Hidalgo told everyone to chill.

"Look at all the previous Olympics and Paralympics around the world, one year before the Games, generally it's stressful and people are saying 'we'll never manage this'. Well, we're ready," she said during a radio appearance. "We're on budget and we're on time."

Of course, one way to balance that budget is with ticket prices. Plenty of sports fans have been complaining about the steep costs of Olympic tickets. Organizers have responded by announcing they would give away 100,000 free tickets for people to watch the opening ceremony, which will see performers and country delegations float down the Seine River.

Another way to make enough Louis (the French word for Benjamins) to pay the bills is: Sell a ton of merch.

Partner Carrefour has begun setting up Olympic product sections in its 253 hypermarkets where customers can buy Paris 2024 T-shirts, caps, bucket hats, swimsuits, flip-flops, balls, and hoodies in the colors of the Olympic Games. These may or may not sport the image of the Games’ mascot which may or may not resemble a part of the female sexual anatomy.

To keep prices low, of course, these goodies were Made In France manufactured in Asia or Turkey.

“We created these products in six months, with around fifteen people internally, Carrefour’s Ève Zuckerman told Le Parisien. “We had to go very quickly to imagine the designs, develop the products, make choices... Offering products made in France at such prices was not feasible in the timing.”

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Carrying A Torch

As if planning the Games is not enough of a logistical nightmare, organizers must also plan the Olympic torch relay. Per usual, the flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece and then it comes by boat to the port city of Marseille on May 8, 2024.

Along the way, the torch will be carried by 10,000 runners who will pass through almost 60 French departments, organizers recently announced. Torchbearers will be picked by the organizing committee, sponsors Coca-Cola and French bank BPCE, other Olympic partners, and the regions hosting the relay.

The official route will be unveiled later this month. Scuttlebutt is that the cauldron for the Games will be at the Eiffel Tower. But organizers weren’t saying for sure.

Swimming In The Seine

France’s $1.5 billion plan to make the polluted Seine River safe enough to host swimming events at the Olympics still faces big hurdles and many doubters just 15 months before the Games are scheduled to start.

One of the pitches Paris made to Olympic officials was that the Seine would be both the site of the opening ceremony and then be used for events such as the swimming portion of the triathlon. But swimming has been banned in the Seine since 1923 due to high levels of metal and fecal bacteria.

The portion of the city that the Seine cuts through is plagued by outdated plumbing in houses and offices that allows sewage to leak. At times of heavy rains, the filth on the streets washes directly into the river. And then there are the numerous boats that use the river and dump their sewage directly into the river.

As The New York Times recently noted, addressing these issues involves huge infrastructure projects to create a more robust sewage and runoff system. But it also involves going door-to-door and convincing thousands of owners to let crews overall their pipes. Even with offers of subsidies from the government, it can be a tough sell.

“It’s delicate,” Claire Costel, one of the project leaders, told The Times. “We can’t force them to open their doors.”

The pollution issues extend beyond the city limits with factories and other industrial sites contributing to the pollution. In 2019, officials said that a Rouen factory fire could dump toxic chemicals into the Seine. The following year a cement plant was accused of dumpling dangerous sludge into the river.

Even if officials manage to get pollution down to acceptable levels, they acknowledge that heavy rain during the games could undo those efforts. Such weather could pose other problems. In recent years, the Seine has been prone to extreme flooding, with water levels threatening to spill over the banks.

Despite these risks, Paris officials see the program as an important investment to transform the city well beyond the Olympic Games. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has made reducing cars in the city center and improving air quality a cornerstone of her agenda.

As she pushes for more green spaces and bikes, she is hoping that the Seine will be eventually open to public swimming in 2025.

According to The Local, the city and region of Paris want to build 23 sites along the Seine, including 5 in the city and 18 in suburban zones. These pools would be placed in the river to provide protected swimming areas.

In a tweet, President Emmanuel Macron said that cleaning up the Seine could be one of the Games’ most important legacies.

“Make the Seine and the Marne swimmable,” Macron tweeted. “This is our objective for 2024. 1.4 billion euros invested, half of which by the State. At [500 days out], we are on track to achieve what will be one of the greatest legacies of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

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Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

And I noted in the last Paris 2024 newsletter, Paris 2024 organizers have launched a massive call for volunteers to work at the games. They need about 45,000 folks. That is already going to be a monumental task for any number of reasons, starting with the application.

Out of curiosity, I started to fill out the questionnaire to become a volunteer, and the first screen cheerfully warns me that I should allow 30 to 45 minutes to fill it out!

In addition to providing contact info, uniform sizes, availability for various events around the country, and skill sets (I have a driver’s license but can not ride a horse), the application takes so long because one must then fill out a questionnaire with 180 questions.

Those questions are real doozies. Perhaps this is a cultural thing, but each question gives you two choices to respond. But as far I can tell, those two responses are not necessarily in opposition to each other.

For example, No. 89 asks: “At what am I the most talented…”

1. Being convincing and getting across my points of view.

2. Establishing new relations.

You have to pick one or the other. But, why does being good at making an argument then make it difficult to establish new relationships? Surely I could do both. Right? Or is this building a masterful psychological profile that will reveal that I have been a closet psychopath my whole life?

Pick one fast because there are still 179 to go. Anyone who has the stamina to fill out the whole thing should get the Legion of Honor medal.

Unfortunately for organizers, there is one group super motivated to run this administrative gauntlet: protestors. Since last year, a group called Saccage 2024 (“saccage” as in “sacking”), which opposes the games for reasons of environmental and economic injustice, has been recruiting their own volunteers from around the world to come to Paris next year and protest the games.

Their latest tactic, according to Le Parisien newspaper, is to sign up as volunteers and infiltrate the games from within in order to disrupt them. Part of their beef is that they find it outrageous that the Olympics, an event sloshing around in money, is relying on an army of unpaid volunteers. Their slogan: “Become an unvolunteer for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024!”

Of course, organizers note that part of the reason for the lengthy application is to discourage such people who aren’t serious about the games. It’s also essential for security reasons to vet all of these people. And because volunteers must sign a charter that legally governs their behavior, organizers warn that anyone who fucks around will find out.

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Speaking Of Security…

French lawmakers passed sweeping legislation for the Summer 2024 Olympic Games that includes provisions for experimenting with video surveillance powered by artificial intelligence which has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.

The new law will allow algorithmic video surveillance (AVS) — sometimes also known as automated video surveillance — to be used for any gathering of more than 300 people. The new law has already taken effect and is valid through the end of 2024, according to Le Monde.

The systems do not use facial recognition or any other biometric systems that would identify individuals. Instead, the algorithms allow for rapid analysis of large volumes of video to detect strange movements, unusual behaviors, suspicious objects like abandoned bags, fires, and any other things that could raise red flags, like Americans eating food while they are walking down the street.

Proponents of the AI security system, say it will deliver greater safety, particularly when large crowds descend on the city for the games. By spotting danger much faster, the systems can alert security forces so they can act in a timely way.

The French government of President Emmanuel Macron and Olympic organizers argue the nation must use every tool at its disposal to prevent any major security incidents at the Games.

Critics, including members of the EU Parliament and Amnesty International, say it represents an unprecedented intrusion and has a poor track record of actually deterring crime. These groups worry that the government will find a way to extend its use well beyond the end of the Games.

“This is a massive surveillance tool that allows police to analyze our behavior … and to decide who is normal and who is suspicious based on their own stereotypes,” Noémie Levain, a legal adviser for a French digital rights group told RFI.

While informally dubbed the “Olympics security law,” it actually targets any large-scale gathering, including sporting events and concerts. That includes the Rugby World Cup that France is hosting starting in September.

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Let The Capitalism Games Begin!

Here is some news that will no doubt shock you to your core: Operators of Airbnbs are massively increasing their prices for bookings during the Olympic Games. According to Le Monde, more than 1,000 properties listed on Airbnb have already started taking reservations for the Olympics, and in doing so have “inflated their prices, sometimes strongly.”

Citing one listing, the newspaper reported that the owner had jacked up the price from €165 per night for the summer of 2023 to €690 per night during the Olympics. If the apartment is booked for all 23 nights, the owner will make €16,000.

They Promised Us Flying Taxis

The company that operates Paris’ airports says plans are moving ahead to launch an air taxi service for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Solène Le Bris of Groupe ADP, which manages Charles De Gaulle and Orly airports, confirmed the timeline while speaking at an Amsterdam drone conference, according to The Guardian.

“We are trying to launch the first e-VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] pre-commercial service in the world: that’s our ambition,” she said.

The VoloCity air taxis are designed by a company called Volocopter. The first of five “vertiports” opened last year Cergy-Pontoise to help test the service. Eventually, commercial passengers will be able to board and disembark from the air taxis at these points.

While the service may potentially be revolutionary, its practical impact will likely be limited. The air taxis only have room for the pilot and one passenger. As such, the number of tickets available to the public will be quite limited, and prices have yet to be determined.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency must still certify the air taxi network before it can ferry commercial passengers. If that approval is granted, the vehicles will use the routes already in place for helicopters, according to Groupe ADP.

Even if the air taxi system is small for the 2024 Games, supporters see this as an opportunity to test the public’s reaction to such a service. That feedback may determine whether such air taxis play a larger role in Paris’ transportation future.

In Other Paris 2024 News…

— The Olympic Committee finally made a decision about whether Russian and Belarussian will be able to compete in 2024. Unfortunately, that decision was to decide the matter later. A fun compromise that managed to piss off Ukraine, Russia, and Paris organizers. Meanwhile, an international basketball federation banned Russian and Belarussian teams from pre-Olympic qualifying tournaments, which means they will not be at the Games.

— There is a debate underway in the Meuse, one of the least densely populated departments in France, over its selection to be one of the places where the Olympic Torch will pass through en route from Marseille to Paris. The problem is that the Paris organizing committee has required a budget of €180,000 from each department hosting a stage of the run. That means that the cost per capita for Meuse residents will be among the highest in France. Proponents say the moment in the spotlight will be great for tourism and economic development, while critics say it’s a waste and that the money would be better on sports programs for local kids.

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq

It’s been almost 6 years since Paris was officially awarded the Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Across the city, there is a furious amount of work being done to spruce up buildings and beef up infrastructure in a race to meet that deadline.

Last week, Paris passed the 500-day mark until the games start, and the media and elected officials used the occasion to measure progress made — and just how much remains to be done.

France’s Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who is overseeing preparations, presented updates to the Assembly and Senate. She told Le Monde that she expects to get little credit if everything goes right, but plenty of blame if things go sideways. “We have no room for error,” she said. “This awareness, I have it every day.”

President Emmanuel Macron spent a day meeting with financial partners, local transportation officials, and other organizers to get the latest.

The company overseeing major construction across 60 sites, Solideo, has said that 89% should be completed by the end of the year. The only major concern is the newly named Adidas Arena which has been delayed by some supply chain issues but is still expected to be done early in 2024. On the other hand, the committee overseeing the €4.38 billion budget has raised concerns about cost overruns.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, while fighting off controversies about a garbage strike that has left sidewalks piled high with trash, insisted everything was on track though plenty remains to be done.

“We still have a lot of challenges to meet, to be ready on safety, on the delivery of equipment, on transport,” she said in an interview. “I have no concerns about these subjects, but it requires a lot of work and coordination. There is obviously an international context, a context of economic and geopolitical instability, which must be taken into account. In France, we can clearly see that the social climate is not good.”

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Seine Security

There is growing concern about plans to hold the opening ceremonies along the banks of the Seine river. The spectacle is set to include 100 boats carrying athletes for the traditional procession. They will start at the Pont d'Austerlitz and float past Notre Dame cathedral and the Louvre to the Pont d'Iéna near the Eiffel Tower.

The plan calls for 100,000 paying spectators to sit on seats placed along the lower banks, and another 500,000 spectators watching from street level. But with 600,000 people expected, security officials are warning that they aren’t sure they can ensure the safety of that many people in such an open space. And local transportation officials insist the network of metro and bus lines can only handle a maximum of 500,000. As such, there is some talk about limiting that number to 400,000 along the 6km stretch for the event.

Just as worrisome: Officials are counting on private security agencies to provide some of the 22,000 agents needed each day during the games. But with these companies already reporting trouble hiring, there is a discussion about whether organizers will have to turn to the military to supplement those numbers. Overall, the games will represent an almost unprecedented mobilization of internal security between private groups, police, and the military, according to Le Figaro.

In other news…

— Speaking of the Seine, Olympic organizers are still insisting they will hold some swimming events in the river following a massive cleanup operation. This plan is being met with much skepticism. But here’s an in-depth look by The Local and another by Time magazine at efforts to revive a river that is so filthy, public swimming has been banned more almost a century.

In a tweet, President Macron said that cleaning up the Seine could be one of the Games’ most important legacies.

— European Parliament members are calling on Paris organizers to drop a plan to roll out a massive video surveillance system as part of security plans for the games. Critics have labeled the system a major invasion of privacy and the kind of tactics used by authoritarian regimes.

— The French National Assembly voted to allow the use of a new form of genetic testing to combat doping among athletes at the games.

— Want to volunteer to work at the games? Now is your chance. They need 45,000 volunteers to do things like welcome and guide visitors. You don’t have to be French or live in France to volunteer.

Chris O’Brien

Le Pecq