Residents of Parisian suburbs are expressing mixed feelings about the Olympic Games – describing a disconnect between their lives the event itself.
Many of the Olympic Games’ events are held in the suburbs of the French capital.
Sports competitions are held at five locations across the suburbs, including the Stade de France located in Saint-Denis.
Training sites are located at a further eleven locations across Paris’ suburbs, as well as the Olympic headquarters and village.
Some Paris resident live next to the venues, but are rarely actually able to attend the competitions.
“Many residents cannot afford tickets for the Games. We want to prevent frustrations about that. Here they can really experience the Games,” said Tremblay-en-France municipal councillor Michel Bodard, whose municipality built a fan zone.
Sports activities are organised at these fan zones and residents of local suburbs can watch the Games live on a large screen for free.
However, there are also protests. In Saint-Denis, a special citizen’s committee has protested several times against construction work for the Olympic Games.
For example, a new road was built in the city that also serves as an entrance to the A86 motorway. The buses to the Olympic village drive back and forth there. After the Games, regular traffic will also use the road.
The new road is right next to two schools. These schools educate children aged 3 to 12 and are now completely wedged between roads and motorways.
Hamid Ouidir lives in Saint-Denis and is a member of the local citizens’ committee.
“Various organisations have calculated that exhaust fumes pose a risk to the health of children”, Ouidir says.
He is also critical of the Olympic village, which is only a few hundred metres away.
A few thousand apartments currently housing athletes will soon become available for the local housing market.
This was originally supposed to be a ‘legacy’ of the Games: new homes for residents. However, this may not be the case.
“It was promised that 40 per cent would become social housing in Saint-Denis,” Ouidir says, “That has been reduced to 20 per cent. 80 per cent will be owner-occupied, with prices that are extremely high. For the residents here, that is unaffordable.”
Euronews
