From backlash to celebration: Paris' amazing Olympic journey

After months of complaints, Parisians are joining in the Olympic celebrations as they begin to see both positive results, such as cleaner streets, improved transport and enhanced security, even if a final solution for the Seine river has yet to be found.

The third Olympic Games to be hosted by Paris began with protests and grievances of all kinds, from garbage collectors and security guards striking for a pay rise, to residents complaining about road closures, rising metro fares (which doubled for the duration of the Olympics) and a drop in tourism.

The city was also heavily militarised, a sight rarely seen in the world.

After all the doubts, complaints and pessimism, these began to fade from the City of Lights as its resilient residents began to embrace the Olympics. Some key successes, such as cleanliness, security and transport, as well as the fact that the predicted traffic collapse did not materialise, contributed to this change in mood.

Although tourism did not reach the usual levels for this time of year, the potential for Paris to regain its status as the world's leading tourist city and Europe's number one destination serves as an incentive.

"We are serving fewer customers than last year at this time, about 80 to 85 per cent of last year," said a waiter in a chic brasserie near the Place de la République.

It was a different story for the hotel sector, which is heavily dependent on tourism. With an occupancy rate of 80 per cent (15 per cent higher than the same period in 2023) and an average stay of 3.3 nights, up 22 per cent on the previous average, the figures were slightly better, making up for the lower number of tourists before the Olympics, when prices were so high as to be counterproductive.

The city is cleaner than ever, which is appreciated by both residents and tourists. Apart from a few peripheral areas or near the Gare du Nord, which have historically been less clean than the upper zones, the pavements are no longer covered in dirt, nor is there the pervasive smell of urine that has plagued the City of Lights in recent years.

Although Mayor Hidalgo claims there are 3,600 homeless people, some associations put the figure at over 13,000. These homeless people blend into the beautiful balconies and alleyways of the City of Lights. However, the vast majority of them were not seen in Paris, as there was a major sweep before the opening ceremony.

However, some have since returned to their usual locations, usually near squares or public parks.

Paris' security was a resounding success, and not just locally, where authorities are used to managing over 12 million inhabitants in the Greater Paris area, as well as the millions of tourists who visit the City of Light each year.

As for the security of the Games themselves, it was excellent. Forces from various national and international agencies patrolled day and night in every part of Paris and its environs, from the most crowded places such as the Place de la Concorde, the Eiffel Tower or the Trocadéro, to much more remote locations that weren't necessarily hosting Olympic events.

Patrol cars, sirens everywhere and police officers walking the streets of Paris were part of the landscape in a capital unlike any other in modern history. There was no illegal or excessive repression, and any attempt at unrest was quashed almost from the start.

In fact, the various security forces even helped lost tourists with a smile or answered questions about how to get around the city, something not so common in recent times.

The mood began to change as the Games started and new national heroes were cheered on in the thousands of cafes and restaurants that dot what many consider to be the gastronomic capital of the world. 

As the days went by, people shed their apathy and began to gather in places with screens showing some of the nearly 550 French athletes striving to achieve the best performance in French history. Many wealthy Parisians, who had retreated to their second homes to avoid what they thought would be chaos, began to return as the Games drew to a close.

The fan zones with giant screens saw fluctuating crowds, sometimes very busy, sometimes more sparse, but always close to capacity when French athletes were in the spotlight. Each night, around 160,000 people gathered to watch the Olympic cauldron being lit near the Louvre in a unique spectacle that will be remembered for years to come.

The bustling "Champions Park", an Olympic innovation that allowed medallists to greet the public after their events, was packed with 27,000 people a day. "We've enjoyed it a lot," said Celia Damase, a 41-year-old mother of two, at the fan zone in the 17th arrondissement in the northwest.

The biggest drawback is undoubtedly the Seine, with its much-heralded and costly €1.5 billion clean-up. While the river is much improved and can be enjoyed for walks along its banks, swimming and events have never been fully guaranteed, leading to several cancellations or postponements.

Several athletes have reported illnesses after swimming in France's iconic river, sparking a wave of criticism and questioning the safety of this iconic waterway for competition.
Belgian athlete Claire Michel had to be hospitalised due to stomach problems caused by pollution in the Seine, prompting the Belgian Olympic Committee to take the radical decision to withdraw from the event.

Two-time world swimming champion Bettina Fabian of Hungary, who finished fifth in the Paris 2024 open water marathon, said, "I saw some, I don't know, brown things. I hope it wasn't what I think it was. I swallowed a lot of water, but let's just clean my throat with some alcohol".

Vasco Vilaça and Melanie Santos developed gastrointestinal infections after swimming in the Seine on 5 August during their triathlon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP), Vilaca's symptoms were more severe than those of his female counterpart.

In short, the biggest disappointment was Paris's emblematic river, which could bear the biggest political cost due to the expense and hype surrounding it.

The opening ceremony sparked controversy over whether its artistic director was mocking Christianity with a drag queen routine or, as he claimed, it was an artistic way to showcase French values and diversity without trying to parody the sacred moment of the Eucharist. All in all, like life itself, Paris' organisation of the 33rd modern Olympic Games was: "Swings and roundabouts". - Insidethegames.bz