2024 Olympics: Paris in the starting blocks
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics takes place in Paris today. Europe's commentators survey the city and the event, in which international conflicts and tough security measures seem to be the dominant themes so far.
A historic bond
Sports expert Rita Nunes explains in Diário de Notícias all that Paris has going for it as a venue:
“The city of Paris is forever linked to the history of the Olympic movement. Why? Because it was in paris that it all began! Because Baron Pierre de Coubertin's dream of creating the Olympic Games was presented, discussed and accepted at the Sorbonne University on 23 June 1894. ... Because it will be at this year's Games in Paris that gender equality will be achieved for the first time. ... Because Paris will be the first city to host three editions of the Olympic Games (1900, 1924 and 2024).”
Enjoy the calm before the storm
The Games will provide only a brief respite, L'Opinion says:
“By proclaiming an 'Olympic and political truce', Macron has made it clear that the interruption of our domestic battles is only temporary. That once the final illusions of glory have dissipated with the last fireworks, we will have to return to real life: with an elusive coalition, populists at the gates of power, the seduction of demagoguery and a population that is always at odds with its elites. ... By mid-August, it will be hard to pretend that the sporting break was enough to avert the looming political crisis. But in the meantime we should not miss this spectacle, which promises to be unforgettable.”
Like in the lockdown
The decision to hold the opening ceremony in the city centre is questionable, columnist Aldo Cazzullo writes in Corriere della Sera:
“My host is worried: just don't say you booked the flat through Airbnb or the neighbours will get upset, she says. ... Parisians are indeed very angry. Not just at Airbnb. ... I've never seen Paris so deserted. Not even in the days of the Bataclan, when people wanted to go out and hug each other, cry, bring a flower to the Place de la République or the morgue. It's like during the lockdown. .... Macron's stubbornness in wanting to transfer the ceremony to the city rather than holding it in a stadium as has always been done in the past has led to an almost total lockdown.”
Commercialised to the hilt
Little remains of the original idea behind the Olympics, criticises Dnevnik:
“The participants are modern-day sports gladiators at the service of the IOC, as well as the economy and politics. The basic Olympic idea has long been forgotten and the IOC is increasingly focusing on its biggest goal - the complete commercialisation of the Games. ... The focus is not on the athletes but on business, money and politics. For this reason, the IOC axes a number of sports with each new round of the Games - ostensibly due to a lack of spectators, but in reality because of insufficient sponsorship - and then introduces new disciplines that are intended to appeal mainly to the younger population instead. For Paris, baseball, softball and karate were removed from the programme and breakdancing was added!”
Hera and Zeus finally on a par
These Games mark an Olympic victory for women's rights, El Periódico de Catalunya writes:
“In the Olympic Games in ancient Greece women were not allowed to take part, even as spectators. Faced with this ban, a handful of women founded the Heraean Games, held in honour of the goddess Hera. ... It was not until the 1900 Olympics that 22 women were allowed to take part, albeit unofficially. ... The Games that open today are the first in which as many women as men are taking part, with 5,250 athletes of each gender competing until 11 August. Paris 24 is committed to open and inclusive Games. ... Without the engagement of so many women who fought for and became links in a chain for equality, this success would not have been possible.”
Like in a science fiction film
The weekly newspaper Documento describes the atmosphere in Paris:
“Visitors arriving in Paris without knowing what to expect have the feeling they are entering the set of a futuristic fantasy film. Helicopters with spotlights circle the sky of the City of Lights, while the historic centre is almost completely closed for security reasons due to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. ... Access to the Trocadero and the banks of the Seine around the Eiffel Tower is restricted to accredited persons and residents of the neighbourhood. But even they have to report to the police in their respective arrondissement, provide a document proving that they live nearby and receive a QR code on their mobile phone in order to pass through the blockade.”
An accumulation of conflicts
In addition to the participation of Russian athletes, Jyllands-Posten sees a number of other problems:
“The IOC's erroneous conclusions also affect Afghanistan. ... Three of the six athletes competing are women who live in exile because the Taliban has banned women from playing sports. ... The Israel-Hamas conflict has already become part of the Games. ... On top of all this there are enormous security measures, suspicions of fraud, threats of strikes by transport workers and disputes over the use of public funds. All this outlines the contours of an Olympic Games in which both French domestic politics and international conflicts have become dominant themes.”
Police at their limit
The Times voices doubts about whether the French police, who have a reputation for being unfriendly, will be capable of changing their ways:
“In a handwritten letter to the 45,000 police officers who will be on duty during the most intensely-guarded moments of the Olympics, France's interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has urged the force to be 'benevolent, friendly and professional'. As anyone who has ever encountered French police will know, such an injunction is sure to test its officers to their very limit. More accustomed to treating relations with the public as a contact sport, France's enforcers are being encouraged to set aside their tear gas canisters, water cannon and rubber bullets in favour of a friendly smile and generally helpful demeanour.”
On a par with the best?
With the Games, France can reinforce its soft power, communications expert Véronique Chabourine explains in La Tribune:
“The success of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be measured by various indicators, including above all the economic impact, environmental sustainability, security and level of satisfaction of participants and spectators. ... If it can master these challenges, France will be able to compete with the UK and China, which occupy second and third place in the global soft power rankings after the US, and position itself on a par with them in terms of the organisation and impact of the Olympic Games.”
A real stress test for the growing city
For the Irish Examiner it is by no means certain that the Olympics will be a success for Paris:
“Paris faces the test this week of launching the Olympic Games safely and affordably at a time of war, political polarisation and social unrest. ... The real challenge will begin once the athletes have packed up and gone home. ... Paris must complete its gold-medal transformation into something greater: a megalopolis that binds the hipsters, financiers and flaneurs of historic, densely populated Paris to the sprawling regional economy where many Olympic events will actually take place.”