Paris Olympics 2024: Bedbugs, QR codes and Macron's unkept promises Challenges behind celebration

The anticipation surrounding the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris was initially met with excitement among the French populace. However, as the Games draw closer, many ordinary citizens are feeling increasingly disconnected from this supposed celebration of life.

Scrutiny from meticulous journalists has revealed a stark contrast between the promises made by Emmanuel Macron's government to ensure the success of the Games and the practical realities on the ground. This dissonance is unlikely to sit well with sports enthusiasts from around the globe who are planning to converge on the French capital.

One of the foremost concerns is ticket pricing. Despite Macron's pledge to keep tickets affordable, it appears that the interests of wealthy elites may have taken precedence. While tickets for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo were priced at 19 euros, the starting price for Paris 2024 is set at 24 euros, with only a limited number available at this rate. Another 5 million tickets are offered at 50 euros, and prices for the rest range from 480 to a staggering 990 euros.

However, it's not just money that makes us happy. The French authorities claimed that the opening ceremony of the Games will be available to all, but only a fraction of the expected 15 million guests — approximately 326 thousand people - will be able to attend the event.

The state of Parisian public transport is also a serious problem. The promised metro line to Charles de Gaulle airport will certainly be completed, but... by 2027 when the Olympics will remain only in the memories of its participants. Of the many new metro and train lines to be launched by the summer of 2024, only Line 14 to Orly will start operating in practice. Instead of the promised free travel in Paris transport for all those who bought tickets for the competition, residents and guests of Paris will see a sharp increase in the cost of travel. Thus, a single ticket will grow from 2.1 euros to 4 euros, a day ticket will cost 16 euros, and a weekly pass will cost 70 euros. All this is due to inflation, which has caused the cost of hosting the games to rise. As one resident said, "Many people buy just [single] tickets, like those who don't go every day. Fans who come are likely to buy weekly passes. They won't even know they exist. I've heard that speculators are buying up metro tickets now to sell them more expensive during the Olympics."

The upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris, scheduled alongside the Olympics, are facing significant hurdles, particularly concerning accessibility. Only 13 of Paris' 303 metro stations are wheelchair accessible. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the affordability of accommodations in the Olympic Village for the Disabled, located in Saint-Denis. With costs soaring to 6,500 euros per square meter, the housing options are prohibitively expensive for many individuals with disabilities. Property developers, while expressing dissatisfaction with sales rates, have shown no willingness to adjust prices to make them more accessible.

However, the living conditions for ordinary athletes are unlikely to please the guests of the Olympics. French social media users write that the flats in the Olympic Village do not have air conditioners. Instead, they are supposed to be given fans, which is clearly not enough for rooms of 12 square metres for two people. Mattresses are made of recycled fishing line and beds are made of cardboard. There is supposed to be one bathroom for four people. With virtually no ventilation, the temperature in the room is unlikely to drop below 28 degrees centigrade. "This is how Macronistan will host Olympic athletes from all over the world for the 2024 Games! What a disgrace! The aim is to humiliate and insult France once again to the whole world!", said Florian Philippot, leader of the French Patriots party.

Furthermore, recent investigations have shed light on labour practices at Olympic construction sites, where foreign workers, predominantly from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, are employed under exploitative conditions resembling slave labour. These workers allege they lack formal contracts, paid holidays, overtime compensation, and proper protective equipment. They have to buy protective equipment with their own money. Shockingly, 87 accidents, including one fatal incident, have been reported on Olympic construction sites.

Meanwhile, for the French, the upcoming games have become a chance to improve their employment conditions a little. A month before the start of the Olympics, Parisian rubbish collectors went on strike, demanding an extra 400 euros to their salaries before the Games and an extra 1,900 euros for the duration of the competition. Parisian police officers have recently made similar demands. Emanuel Macron's government has consistently attacked the labour rights of the French and these demands are unacceptable to him, but the prospect of turning the capital into a cloaca during the Olympics has forced the authorities to start negotiations with the strikers and begin to find a compromise.

The environment is one of the most pressing problems of the Paris Olympics. Despite a billion euros spent on building sewage treatment plants, 13 out of 14 samples of water in the Seine show that it is unfit for swimming. However, Macron continues to be cheerful and is ready to personally, imitating Mao Zedong, to throw himself into the water. In his time, Russian traveller Nikolai Karamzin wrote that "Paris stinks". While modern Paris may boast improved aromas, complaints from visitors about widespread infestations of bedbugs and rats highlight ongoing challenges with urban hygiene and pest control.

Authorities are openly acknowledging their struggles to combat these pests. Emmanuel Gregoire, deputy mayor of Paris, bluntly states, "No one is safe. They can catch you anywhere and come home with you without you realizing it. Bedbug control is hell."

The prevalence of bedbugs has reached such heights that passengers on the Paris metro now prefer to stand rather than risk touching the seats. Even in cinemas, where seats are treated with chemicals after each show, the efforts seem futile as Parisian insects have developed immunity to traditional poisons over centuries of evolution. Bedbugs are known to infest various public spaces, including shops, museums, and cafes, posing a nuisance at all hours of the day and night.

Similarly, the two million euros allocated for rat control have proven to be a fruitless investment, with authorities admitting their powerlessness in the face of this scourge. However, this admission has been welcomed by French conservationists, who advocate for coexistence with rodents and advocate for the exploration of alternative pest control methods.

If Macron has hopelessly lost the war against bedbugs and rats, he has been much more successful in his campaign to cleanse Paris of his citizens. Human rights organisations point out that the authorities have launched a campaign to cleanse Paris of "disadvantaged elements of society". Migrants, famous Parisian clocheurs, and people waiting for social housing are loaded onto buses and deported to provincial towns. Just recently, for example, a squat in Vitry-sur-Seine, the largest squat in Ile-de-France with up to 450 people, was "evacuated". This creates problems for the people of the periphery, for whom the influx of the most vulnerable people means a worsening of the already difficult unemployment situation, and for the deportees themselves. It is much more difficult for them to find jobs and access social services in their new places.

However, ordinary middle-class Parisians also turned out to be superfluous at Macron's sporting festivities. QR codes will be introduced during the Olympic Games in Paris. The QR codes will allow passage to some streets 2.5 hours before the start of the competitions and an hour before their end. Some metro stations will be closed and the Minister of Transport Clément Bon has offered the Parisians to leave the city for the time of the Games and work at home.

Despite mounting challenges and controversies, there's little doubt that the Paris Olympics will proceed as planned. Throughout history, the Games have endured various obstacles, and this occasion will likely be no different. However, the forthcoming event is poised to be a celebration primarily for a select few: wealthy contractors, the super-rich elite, and the French government itself. The French government, akin to totalitarian regimes, is poised to transform the Olympics into a colossal PR campaign. Behind the glitz and glamour of the event lies a calculated effort to showcase national pride and achievement, deflecting attention from the underlying controversies and challenges.

The opinions and perspectives expressed by guest columnists in their op-eds are their own and do not necessarily align with the viewpoints of the editorial team.