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RIOTS

Paris ‘not worried’ riots will affect 2024 Olympics

The city government in Paris said on Monday it was "not worried" about knock-on effects from almost a week of riots on next year's Olympic Games.

Paris 'not worried' riots will affect 2024 Olympics
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo (C) delivers a speech on July 3, 2023 in Paris. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP)

France has witnesssed several nights of violence in Paris suburbs and across the country since a policeman shot dead a teenager during a traffic stop last week.

READ MORE: OPINION: Riots could become France’s most dangerous crisis in decades

Although he acknowledged being “concerned about the situation” in France, Emmanuel Gregoire, deputy to Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, said he had “no concerns about the impact” on the Olympics.

“We’re still a year away from the Games. We shouldn’t get our calendars mixed up,” Gregoire told AFP.

The Olympic “flame is an extraordinary opportunity to bring hope” in “a country showing extremely concerning signs,” mayor Hidalgo said at a Monday event outlining the torch route through the capital.

When the Olympic flame was brought through Paris in 2008 ahead of the Beijing Games, the route had to be completed by bus because of demonstrations by pro-Tibet protesters.

“We all have in mind the things that didn’t necessarily go well, we’re working for this to bring joy and enthusiasm,” Hidalgo said.

“We will live up to the security” needs of the Games, her sports chief Pierre Rabadan said — while adding that there would “no doubt” be disturbances.

Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said Monday that the government had “taken measures in recent days to again step up security of infrastructure” linked to next year’s Olympics.

“The nation is damaged by all of this. What’s going on obviously isn’t good for France’s image” abroad, Oudea-Castera added.

Nevertheless, “there were events like this about a year ahead of the London Games, with very violent demonstrations following police violence. London’s Games were very positive,” she said.

France’s ability to host major events like the upcoming Rugby World Cup and the Olympics had already been called into question over major failures in crowd management at the 2022 Champions League final at the Stade de France.

The venue, set to form the centrepiece of the Games, lies in one of the Paris suburbs shaken by violence since the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M. on Tuesday by a policeman.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

Paris Olympics ticket app and resale platform goes live

The official 2024 Paris Olympics app went live on Wednesday, enabling ticket holders to obtain their places and resell seats for any unwanted sessions, the organising committee announced.

Paris Olympics ticket app and resale platform goes live

The app “paris2024tickets” is the “only official and authorised resale channel: the resale is completely transparent for both the seller and the purchaser,” the organising committee said in a statement.

Most events for the July 26th-August 11th Olympic Games have quickly sold out during multiple ticket releases since last year, with around 8.27 million places purchased in total.

There remain tickets for the Olympic football, however, while most sports are still available for the Paralympics which take place from August 28th-September 8th.

The app will be “the essential tool for accessing your tickets for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. On competition day, only a ticket presented on the Paris 2024 tickets app will allow access to the venues,” the organising committee said.

It enables buyers to transfer tickets to their fellow travellers and will be used to obtain the QR codes that must be shown to security at venues.

The QR codes “are not visible for the moment to prevent counterfeiting,” Michael Aloisio, director general of the Paris organising committee, told reporters.

Also now live in the website to request QR codes to enter security zones in Paris during the Games – you find out HERE whether you will need a code and how to apply for one.

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