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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

IOC unfazed by French strike threats during Paris Games

The International Olympic Committee expressed confidence Friday in French preparations for the Paris Games and said it was "not worried" about the risk of strikes from trade unions.

Published: 9 March 2024 08:47 CET
A worker sets up a giant poster announcing the Olympic Games on the facade of the Solidarity and Health ministry in Paris
A worker sets up a giant poster announcing the Olympic Games on the facade of the Solidarity and Health ministry in Paris. Despite the threat of strikes impacting the games, the International Olympic Committee has said it is unfazed. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

At the end of its last inspection of French preparations before the start of the Olympics on July 26, senior IOC official Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant said he was “full of confidence”.

Asked about strike threats, the head of the IOC’s coordination commission for the Paris Games replied: “We don’t have any worries. There’s a dialogue underway.”

“At this stage, we’re very confident that solutions will be found because there’s a collective desire to see the Paris Games be the celebration they deserve to be,” he added.

Trade unions representing workers across France’s public services have been pushing for bonuses and extra resources for their members who will have to work through the summer holidays during the Games.

On Thursday, the hard-left CGT union said it planned to file formal strike notices for people working in central and local government offices during the Olympics and Paralympics, which run until September 8.

The CGT branch representing Paris metro workers has already filed a strike notice for the same period.

Ahead of the 1998 football World Cup in France, the last time the country hosted such a major sporting event, pilots at national carrier Air France went on strike on the eve of kick-off along with taxi drivers and other transport workers.

Beckers-Vieujant played down the significance of recent criticism of the Games in France and negative press coverage.

“It’s obvious that the months preceding the Olympic Games are not the easiest,” he said, explaining how construction work and other disturbances affect host countries and their populations.

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Will there be strikes during the Paris Olympics?

“It’s customary to see a fall in public support in the run-up to the Games… it’s not a surprise and no different from what we’ve seen before previous editions.”

Around two million tickets remain to be sold for the Olympics, including a million for the football, according to the Paris organising committee.

A final release of tickets for all sports will be carried out around April 17, 100 days from the start.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

France bids final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade

France bid a final and reluctant farewell to the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a parade on the Champs-Elysees followed by a concert featuring artists from the opening and closing ceremonies.

Published: 15 September 2024 09:40 CEST
France bids final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade

The final event of an acclaimed summer of sport saw tens of thousands of fans gather on the French capital’s most famous avenue to applaud and cheer the nation’s new sporting heroes.

Around 70,000 people gathered for the parade featuring athletes, volunteers and public sector workers, which was followed by a multi-artist concert on a spectacular stage around the Arc de Triomphe.

“Saying thanks, not just to the athletes but to everyone who made these games magic, I think it’s fabulous,” said France’s most-decorated track athlete, Marie-Jose Perec, who lit the cauldron at the start of the Games on July 26.

“It’s a beautiful way of saying goodbye because everything must come to an end and tonight it will all be over,” the visibly emotional 200m and 400m triple gold medallist told reporters as she arrived.

Around 4,000 police were called out for a final test, having won almost almost unanimous praise for the way they kept around 12 million ticket holders for the Olympics and Paralympics safe.

After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics, Parisians and the country at large threw themselves into the spirit of the Games once the sport began.

They embraced new champions such as triple gold medal-winning swimmer Leon Marchand while finding fresh reasons to celebrate veterans such as judoka Teddy Riner who won his fourth Olympic title.

“Thank you, thank you, it’s been incredible!” Riner shouted to the cheering crowd.

He, Marchand and Rugby Sevens star Antoine Dupont were among more than 100 French medal winners who were awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian award, in a ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe led by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The French team finished the Olympics with a record medals haul of 64, including 16 golds, securing fifth place on the international table.

The Paralympic Games from August 28-September 8 were hailed as “the most spectacular ever” by the head of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.

Escapism

Analysts say the Games served as a form of escapism for many French people worried about the direction of the country as well as generating a rare form of national union and pride.

“Everything worked, everything functioned and French people rediscovered the virtues of national cohesion,” the head of the French Olympic Committee, David Lappartient, told reporters.

Macron is seeking to take advantage of this more positive mood, having faced widespread criticism for his decision to call snap parliamentary elections in June which blindsided Paris 2024 organisers.

The vote resulted in a hung parliament and historic gains for the far-right National Rally party.

Instead of making a speech, he recorded a poetic voiceover over images of the Olympics and Paralympics, saying it was “a summer that had already become part of French sporting legend.”

The 46-year-old was the main instigator of Saturday’s event, which was not originally part of the Olympic or Paralympic programme.

The centrist has also announced his intention to create an Olympics-inspired “national day of sport” every year on September 14.

“We need to spend time together at a day of sport, which would take place in the street, schools, in dedicated sports centres,” he told the Parisien.

Saturday night’s concert featured singer Chris, formerly of Christine & the Queens, who performed at the Paralympics opening ceremony, as well as blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam among others.

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