AFP
Poor neighborhood, rich neighborhood: six months before the 2024 Olympics, the craze has stalled
From the large complexes of Seine-Saint-Denis to the beautiful neighborhoods of Paris, those who live at the forefront of the events of the 2024 Olympic Games show little enthusiasm six months before the event, more a sign for them of daily constraints. the northern entrance to Paris, the only Saint-Denis canal separates the Stade de France from the poor district of Franc-Moisin but its large towers, in the process of being rehabilitated, are currently living at odds with the Olympic dream.Samia Achoui, who tries to save money to travel every summer, had simply forgotten that the event awaited since its assignment to Paris in 2017, was finally going to take place from July 26 to August 11. “I completely ignored the fact that there were the Games,” says the 61-year-old accounting secretary with a smile. She would have nothing against going to see the events but “given the price of the tickets , too expensive”, she will be content to hear “the sound of applause,” she adds without resentment. – “No means” to leave – The acclamations during the athletics events, Jean-Pierre Bagassien will not be able to not miss them: he lives in a building wedged between the stadium and the highway. Flee the crowds that he can no longer stand at his age? “I would like to leave but I don’t have the means,” breathes the 64-year-old man. With his cap pulled down halfway over his eyes, Achraf, 24, hangs out in the city of Franc-Moisin, gangrenous with drug trafficking. “With the Games nearby, I might be able to find work,” he hopes, raising his arm in the direction of the stadium. In downtown Saint-Denis, restaurateur Antoine Bento, 70, hopes same dynamism as during the Rugby World Cup, in the fall of 2023: the animations and giant screens had increased its turnover. “Hire extras, paid by the week”, such is already his plan. To a friend at the table who complains in advance about too many crowds in transport, he retorts that the event “will make France and the neighborhood shine “Nordine no longer wants to hear about the Games. “Let’s get rid of it as quickly as possible!” asserts this native of Saint-Denis, who did not want to give his last name. This sixty-year-old fears an acceleration of gentrification around the capital. “The new housing built in Saint-Ouen (athletes’ village, editor’s note), it will not be for the local people”, tackles Nordine, railing against “the sores (…) who have raised the prices of everything daily”. – …”Everyone is going to leave” -In the heart of the capital, a much more upscale district, the 7th arrondissement of Paris, is also preparing to become the center of the world for two weeks. Several events are taking place. will take place on the Champ-de-Mars: beach volleyball in a stadium set up for the occasion at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, judo and wrestling in the Grand Palais Ephémère. Further east, the Esplanade des Invalides will host archery. But around the Iron Lady, enthusiasm is running low. “I won’t be there, it’s in the middle of summer”, says Zoe Ben Amar, sales manager in events for whom the Olympics do not change “much” from her usual vacation. Like many, she deplores the cost of tickets. “Parisians are there to pay taxes, but not to be associated with this event,” criticizes the 48-year-old woman, convinced that “everyone will leave.” Blue hat and coat, Catharina Wulf announces with a delicious German accent that she will rent her accommodation to people she knows… The Olympics? “I don’t care,” says this elegant Parisian, who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years. Skepticism infects even the youngest. “Already, taking transport every day, it’s a bit of a hassle, so there…”, says Guillaume, 19, a business school student who crosses into a bar. In this right-wing district led by Rachida Dati , opponent of PS mayor Anne Hidalgo, the AFP received, unsurprisingly, almost only hostile opinions. Antoine Heslot, 32, manager of real estate investment funds, is almost an exception when he says that he will spend “perhaps a weekend here” during the Olympic fortnight. – Circulation “red scarlet” -In the 7th also, logically, the tone is a little better among traders. “We expect to have more people” than a normal summer, when Paris is a “dead trade zone,” says Benjamin Perronnet, a 37-year-old wine merchant. But the main fear remains the same: traffic restrictions. If the renowned restaurants “are happy” because they are full, “we will deliver but it will be difficult”, summarizes Jean-Marie Boëdec, owner of a butcher’s shop who fears the “scarlet red” zones where cars pass will be prohibited, unless exempted. The protection perimeter where the circulation of motorized vehicles must be motivated – the blue zone – encompasses half of the district, while the red zone concerns the immediate surroundings of the Eiffel Tower. The presentation of supporting documents to enter the latter raises the hackles of traders and residents alike: “the QR code is very scary, because it is a bit reminiscent of confinement” of Covid-19, underlines Zoe Ben Amar.pyv-amb/lbx/pga/cpb/
2024-01-26 06:32:44
#Celine #Dion #worrying #revelations #friend #unpredictable #illness