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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

New doubts over coral and safety at France’s planned Olympic surf venue

The president of French Polynesia has questioned whether 2024 Olympic surfing can go ahead at the planned site in Tahiti, saying he was concerned about safety and damage to coral from a planned judging tower.

This 2021 photo shows the Teahupo'o PK0, a place that is due to host surfing events for the 2024 Olympics, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
This 2021 photo shows the Teahupo'o PK0, a place that is due to host surfing events for the 2024 Olympics, in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Suliane FAVENNEC / AFP)

A construction barge slated to install a new judging tower broke more of the beach’s corals in a new test in the French Pacific territory on Friday, which was filmed by environmental groups.

That could leave an old wooden tower as the only space for the judges.

“Today we’re breaking coral, and tomorrow we may be endangering people’s lives if we use this old equipment,” Moetai Brotherson told local broadcaster TNTV on Saturday.

“If there’s no solution in the end… we must call into question the survival of the surf contests at Teahupoo,” he added.

Brotherson cancelled tests he was supposed to observe as well as the start of construction work on Monday.

And he said that “there’s no way we will be able to re-use the old foundations… or the old tower”.

READ ALSO: Olympic chief ‘very satisfied’ with Paris 2024 Village

Brotherson told AFP that it would not be possible to move the competition to another beach in Tahiti, as Teahupoo was the site originally filed with Olympic authorities as part of France’s candidacy.

And it would cost several million euros (dollars) to move the surfing events to a site in metropolitan France.

But Barbara Martins-Nio, the Tahiti Olympics site director, said she was “confident a technical solution exists”.

“A new tower and new foundations are the only way,” she added — while acknowledging that “it’s true that it’s difficult to access the site”.

“If we don’t manage it, all of us together will have to ask ourselves what happens next,” Martins-Nio said.

More than 168,000 people have signed an online petition against the planned aluminium judges’ tower, supposed to reach a height of 14 metres (46 feet), while hundreds have protested at the Teahupoo site itself.

It “doesn’t make any sense to need such a giant tower for a 2 days event,” American surfing legend Kelly Slater posted online last week, calling to “give the money to local infrastructure” instead.

Vai ara o Teahupoo, the main association opposing the new tower, has stopped speaking to the media about the case.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

How Paris’s Olympic carpool lanes will work 

Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games periods, some 185km of lanes on roads around Paris will be reserved for event-related traffic – here’s what you need to know.

How Paris’s Olympic carpool lanes will work 

Between July 15th and September 11th, ‘Olympic lanes’ will be in use along certain stretches of key roads in and around Paris.

These lanes will be reserved for use by accredited vehicles to transport athletes, accredited journalists and official delegations, as well as emergency and security vehicles, cabs, ambulances and public transport.

READ ALSO Apps, reservations and flying taxis: What to know before visiting Paris this summer

The lanes will be activated on July 15, on the following roads:

  • A1 between Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Porte de la Chapelle, until September 11th;
  • A4 between Collégien and Porte de Bercy until August 13th, then from August 30th to September 8th;
  • A12 between Rocquencourt and Montigny le Bretonneux until August 13th, and again from August 27th to September 8th;
  • A13 between Porte Maillot and Rocquencourt until August 13th, then from August 27th to September 8th;
  • Boulevard périphérique, from Porte de Vanves to Porte de Bercy, via the north until August 13th, then from August 22th to September 11th;
  • Boulevard Circulaire (La Défense) until August 13th, then from August 22nd to September 11th;
  • Lanes on certain routes in Paris.

None of these roads will be closed – lanes along these routes that are not reserved for Olympic or Paralympic Games traffic are open to road users as usual.

The lanes in question will be signposted – signs, clearly marked with the words “Paris 2024”, will be in place from July 1st, and will be removed by the end of the day on September 15h. 

READ ALSO How to use Paris public transport during the Olympics

Who can use dedicated Olympic lanes?

Only vehicles and road users that have been properly accredited by the Organising Committee of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games can travel along these lanes during the periods indicated above. 

They include:

  • vehicles of accredited persons;
  • cabs;
  • public transport vehicles;
  • vehicles designed to facilitate the transport of people with reduced mobility;
  • and emergency and security vehicles.

READ ALSO Who needs a QR code to get around Paris during the Olympics

All other vehicles are prohibited from using these lanes throughout the Olympic Games period. Any vehicle circulating on an Olympic lane without having received prior authorisation is liable to a fine of €135 and possible further prosecution.

Road users without Olympic accreditation are advised to be aware of possible travel issues, as more vehicles are filtered into the other lanes. Therefore it would be wise to allow a little extra time for your journey if you are using one of the listed roads during the Games period.

An interactive map, showing routes with Olympic lanes is available here

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