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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

Entertainers’ union plans strike for Olympics opening ceremony

A French performing artists union announced plans for a strike coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, protesting "outrageous disparities in treatment" between performers recruited for the spectacle.

Published: 18 July 2024 08:56 CEST

Entertainers' union plans strike for Olympics opening ceremony

The Olympic Rings displayed at the Eiffel Tower Stadium for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games in Paris on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

“We regret to have to announce filing a strike notice for the show on July 26th as well as for the upcoming rehearsals for the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games” on August 28th, the union said in a statement.

It said it had “alerted” Paname24, the executive producer of the ceremonies, several times about contractual practices not in accordance with the collective agreement.

“We also highlighted outrageous disparities in treatment as well as an absence of social dialogue during preparations for the ceremonies,” the union added.

Asked by AFP, a member of the SFA-CGT union suggested that around “250 to 300 professional dancers” of the 3,000 signed up for the Olympics “were recruited under shameful (financial) conditions”.

“Why are some non-Parisian artists being paid and housed, when the majority of them — the most precarious — won’t be, even though they have the same employment contracts,” the union said.

Some 3,000 dancers, musicians and actors will take to the banks of the river Seine and its bridges as part of the ceremony which will carry athletes along a six-kilometre (four mile) route, the first time a summer Games has begun outside the main stadium.

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IN PICTURES: Paris Paralympics open in blaze of hope and inclusivity

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open during a ceremony in a balmy Place de la Concorde in central Paris — the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony has taken place away from the main stadium.

Greece’s delegation parade in front of the Obelisque de Louxor (Luxor Obelisk) at the Place de la Concorde. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

The 4,400 competitors from 168 delegations paraded into the arena as the sun set with host nation France entering last to a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators packed into the stands around the historic square.

France’s paralympic flag bearer Alexis Hanquinquant parades at the Place de la Concorde. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

The fine weather was in sharp contrast to the heavy rain which fell throughout the Olympics opening ceremony on July 26.

In one of the highlights of the ceremony, French singer Lucky Love, who is missing his left arm below the elbow, performed a moving rendition of his song “My Ability” surrounded by both able-bodied and disabled dancers.

French singer Lucky Love performs at the Place de la Concorde. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons then told the athletes and spectators he hoped for an “inclusion revolution”, before Macron officially declared the Games open.

The Paralympic flag was carried into the square by John McFall, a British Paralympic sprinter who has been selected by the European Space Agency to become the first ‘parastronaut’.

French Olympian Florent Manaudou brought the flame into the arena, as the four-day torch relay reached its culmination with five French Paralympians, including 2020 gold medallists Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keita, eventually lighting the already-iconic cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens.

France’s paralympic torchbearers: (L) Charles-Antoine Kaoukou, Nantenin Keita, Fabien Lamirault, Alexis Hanquinquant and Elodie Lorandi (R) hold the Paralympic flame in front of the Paralympic cauldron. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP)

A total of 18 of the 35 Olympic venues will also be used for the Paralympics, which run until September 8th, including the ornate Grand Palais and the Stade de France.

Ticket sales have sped up since the Olympics and organisers say more than two million of the 2.5 million available have been sold, with several venues sold out.

READ MORE: How to get tickets for the Paris Paralympics

Predictions

Riding the wave of its Olympic team’s success, host nation France is aiming for a substantial improvement on the 11 golds it won in 2021, which left it 14th in the medals table.

Paralympic powerhouse China dominated the last Paralympics in Tokyo with 96 golds and has again sent a strong delegation.

Ukraine, traditionally one of the top medal-winning nations at the Paralympics, has sent a team of 140 athletes to compete in 17 sports despite the challenges they face in preparing as the war against Russian forces rages at home.

A total of 96 athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner but are barred from the ceremonies because of the invasion of Ukraine.

READ MORE: How to watch the Paris Paralympic Games on TV in France

Every Games produces new stars, and in this edition look to American above-the-knee amputee sprinter/high jumper Ezra Frech to make the headlines.

Away from the track, more established names go in search of glory.

Iranian sitting volleyball legend Morteza Mehrzad, who stands 8ft 1in tall, will attempt to take gold again and Beatrice ‘Bebe’ Vio, the Italian fencer who had to have all four limbs amputated when she contracted meningitis at the age of 11, is aiming for the third Paralympic title of her career.

The Paralympics always have a far wider message than simply sport and Parsons told AFP earlier this year he hopes the Paris edition will restore the issues that disabled people face to the top of the list of global priorities.

The Brazilian believes the Games “will have a big impact in how people with disability are perceived around the world”.

“This is one of the key expectations we have around Paris 2024; we believe that we need people with disability to be put back on the global agenda,” Parsons said.

“We do believe people with disability have been left behind. There is very little debate about persons with disability.”

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