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Are the Paris Olympics doing the unthinkable and making the French happy?

The French - and especially Parisians - do have a certain reputation for grumpiness (along with traits like style, wit and understanding the importance of a really good lunch) - but have the Paris Olympics done the unthinkable and made the city a happy and cheerful place?

Published: 31 July 2024 15:09 CEST
Are the Paris Olympics doing the unthinkable and making the French happy?
Frances's fans cheer for their team in the men's beach volleyball match at the Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris on July 30, 2024. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP

In the run-up to the Olympics it’s fair to say that a certain gloom and pessimism prevailed – headlines focused on Parisians quitting the city or complaining about security measures or on fears that the ambitious opening ceremony on the River Seine would be a flop.

However, now the Games are underway, the opening ceremony wowed the world (with the exception of Donald Trump and the supreme leader of Iran) and France is doing pretty well in the medals table.

We’re not claiming that these Games have been problem free, of course – the men’s triathlon had to be postponed because of the water quality in the Seine, some athletes are not happy with conditions at the Athletes’ Village and sweltering weather has made conditions difficult at some events.

But problems notwithstanding something surprising is happening – Paris has become a place of joy, happiness and excitement and the French fans are getting very into the Games indeed. 

Atmosphere

More than half of all tickets sold have gone to French people which means most events have a strong French contingent in the crowd who are providing vocal support to local athletes – yes, you’re likely to hear La Marseillaise sung a lot during these games.

Among those charmed by the support was Fin Kirwan, head of the US Olympic Committee. After watching French star swimmer Léon Marchand win gold he told Le Point: “The atmosphere is electric. The French are crazy! The public are living up to what the Olympics should be.

“I can feel that there’s a lot of joy in the air.”

And it’s not just at Games venues – even on the street people seem unusually cheerful; Metro stations are full of smiling staff asking commuters if they need help, Olympics volunteers are welcoming people to the city and the foreign police officers who have come to help out with the Games seem to have a holiday vibe (LAPD officers report being stopped for selfies with tourists).

Venues

One of the key concepts of these Games was to ‘take the sports out of the stadiums and into the city’ by using city centre landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde and Les Invalides to stage events.

The result has been some truly spectacular photos which leave no-one in any doubt about which city this event took place in.

Superfans

In among the 9 million fans are some famous faces who also appear to have been getting into the spirit.

It’s a quiet time for politics so a lot of France’s top politicians seem to have decamped to Games venues – including president Emmanuel Macron who was straight up to the Stade de France to watch France win its first gold medal at rugby 7s.

US rapper Snoop Dogg – who was a torch bearer during the pre-Games torch relay – turns out to be a superfan of the Olympics and has been turning his hand to everything from commentary to getting a swimming lesson from American swim legend Michael Phelps.

https://x.com/Eurosport_FR/status/1818573113551896611

But the biggest ‘superfan’ of all has to be French football star Antoine Griezmann – he has been pictured cheering on athletes in multiple venues and keeps his 8 million Twitter fans up to date with all the latest French victories.

In fact Macron even joked that anyone who wanted to keep track of France’s Olympic medal haul should just turn to Griezmann. “The app is called Antoine Griezmann,” Macron posted, with a link to the footballer’s account.

Tickets 

Even before it started, the Paris Olympics had set a new record for the total number of tickets sold, with the 8.7 million purchased as of July 17th surpassing the previous high of 8.3 million at the Atlanta Games in 1996.

However that number has now risen to 9.1 million tickets sold as Olympic fever grips the city – this is partly thanks to a very efficient ticket resale site, which has allowed people to resell tickets that they no longer want or cannot use on an officially sanctioned platform in a simple four-click process.

READ ALSO How to use the Paris Olympics ticket app and resale site

Meanwhile the 100,000 free tickets on offer to see the Olympic flame hot air balloon sold out within 24 hours – organisers are now adding fresh tickets each morning.

READ ALSO How to see the Paris Olympic flame hot air balloon

The Games are not over yet, and there’s plenty that could still go wrong, but as things stand we’re a long way from the disaster that some people predicted.

Member comments

  1. Great that France is getting into the spirit & down at the venues it’s brilliant but no disguising the fact that using the city is very disruptive. Different diversions every day as the streets are used for races, even walking around is hard. Even outer arrondissements are affected (some street markets are closed). The tourist industry is not getting the bonanza it anticipated.
    I was irritated by my fellow Parisians’ pessimism pre-Games, now I am getting fed up as well.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

French cabbies seek payout for lost Olympics revenue

French taxi drivers on Thursday demanded government compensation for lost revenue during the Olympic Games as traffic disruptions and fewer regular clients weigh on demand.

Published: 1 August 2024 13:36 CEST
French cabbies seek payout for lost Olympics revenue

In a letter to the transport ministry, taxi unions said that the Games had been “hugely disappointing” for the drivers of licenced taxis of which there are 20,000 in Paris alone.

“Demand is slowing and the entire profession is being prevented from simply doing their job because of these Games,” said the letter, seen by AFP.

The number of additional visitors drawn by the Olympics had failed to make up for “the impact of traffic restrictions, the closure of venues and the impact of usual customers staying away”, it said.

The unions demanded the creation of a “compensation fund” that they said should cover income lost for the seven-month period during which public spaces were being taken over for the Games.

Several venues in and around Paris, but also in Marseille were blocked off for several weeks before the Games started on July 26th.

The government has encouraged French residents to go on holiday or work remotely during the Games, further dampening demand and contributing to a sharp fall in business compared to the same period in 2023, the unions said.

Some drivers had seen their income fall by 40 or 50 percent, they said.

Last month, trade groups said that Paris shops, restaurants, bars and clubs were facing an “unprecedented slump in business and footfall”, blaming in part the “heavy security measures” during the Games.

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