“Paris sublimated, Paris contemplated, Paris immortalized… but Paris controlled”. It’s not just the famous anaphora that Joël unabashedly steals from de Gaulle. The serious tone, another characteristic of the General, is also present when the thirty-year-old talks about the 2024 Olympic Games. The upcoming sports blockbuster affects him much less than the fear of losing his favorite playground at the same time.
This is because, for Joël, Paris evokes less the city of lights than a giant sandbox in which he has fun. By opening your eyes – very – carefully on the Haussmannian boulevards, you can sometimes see him rushing down the roofs, hanging from a crane or climbing one of the city’s many construction sites.
Not seen not caught
Joël practices parkour, urban climbing in acrobatics style above the tarmac rather than in the trees. The elevated Parisian architecture, the thousand views that the city offers and, thank you Hidalgo, the fact of coming across construction in almost every street, offered until the end crazy perspectives for all Yamakasi blue-white-red version . “Freedom”, smiles Joël, recalling that it is even the first word of our national motto.
Patriotic slogan or not, climbing 30 meters on a crane or entering a construction site remains illegal – the “Forbidden to the public” written everywhere in large letters is a good indicator on this subject. “It was rare that I got caught, and when it happened, it often resulted in custody or a little verbal warning, nothing too serious,” emphasizes Joël. If it is already combined with the past, it is because the summer of 2024 is likely to shake up this observation of “not so worse”.
“Being beaten up for a simple ordinary climb, what’s the point? »
With the Olympics, the daredevil climber will have to deal with more police, more cameras and more tourists… “When you see a person on top of a roof, you are afraid that it is a guy who wants to commit suicide or a thief and you call the cops, that’s normal. To avoid this, we go out very early at dawn or at night, but I’m afraid that next summer, there will always be people whatever the time. When it’s not the new cameras or police officers who will burn us.”
A bit fatalistic, sharp with his crooked smile, our tall 1.85m rod is about to have ants in his legs all summer. “Mythical follies like the Eiffel Tower or Notre-Dame, it’s not even worth thinking about for at least a few months. But even a simple building site or a crane, I wonder if it will be worth it. Having a 90% chance of getting screwed for a simple ordinary climb, what’s the point? »
More control even after summer 2024?
Same fear of being nailed to the ground after having experienced the intoxication of the peaks for Medhi, 33 freelancers, 15 of whom crisscrossed the roofs of Paris like Amélie Poulain does the tour of cafes. “Doing parkour requires two rules: be careful, and be discreet. Cautious, I always will be. Discreet, it’s going to be more and more difficult in 2024… and after.”
Because members of the discipline fear much worse than a simple summer break. “The tourists will eventually leave. The police presence and additional cameras, on the other hand… Each time we strengthen controls and security, even by presenting episodic measures, it is very rare that we go back on them. I don’t have too many illusions. The cameras will remain. And the general mood in France is towards more police officers rather than fewer. »
The attacks, the Olympics, increasingly strong police pressure
For this lover of the capital, “Paris remains Paris” as they say so well, but part of the freedom enjoyed in his youth has gone for good, and the Olympics could be the last nail in the coffin. “Things have already changed a lot after the attacks. Today, people are more suspicious, the police are more vigilant and that is normal. I think that by climbing the Eiffel Tower at night for example, someone might mistake me for a terrorist and actually shoot me. » And at some point, parkour fan or not, you shouldn’t overdo the romanticism of the thing: “Parkour is important to me, but not to the point of risking my life. And if I can avoid a hefty fine on my bank account, that wouldn’t be bad either. We will do indoor climbing or in Fontainebleau. It’s not the same thing, that’s for sure, but no choice. »
Joël also anticipates a more grimacing atmosphere among the police: “I’m not one of those who will say that they are all rotten or something. But the cops, the fine and the sentence you receive depend on their mood so there are times when it is better to avoid acting like a puppet in front of them. During the “yellow vests” for example, or after Nahel. It will be the same thing during the Olympics: they will already be overwhelmed on all sides, having to deal with a guy who wants to jump between the roofs, it will annoy them.”
Fewer things possible but more work to have fun
But what would France – and Paris – be without a hint of optimism that is a bit too romantic? It’s up to Mathias to embody it: “Tourists will come to the Paris Olympics to see the magic. Acrobatics between the roofs, that should please them I think. We’re not doing anything bad, there’s no reason for things to go wrong with them. »
For the cameras, the man simply pleads that we must live with the times: “Of course we can do fewer things than before, but it’s the same everywhere, not just for parkour and not just in Paris. Take any tourist place: it is much more supervised and regulated than 20 years ago. We will have to adapt. I’m not naive, it’s certain that we can do fewer things. »
The only major consolation for our three acrobats: the number of Parisian construction sites, already significant, has increased further with the coming of the Games. “It’s all about new adventures, discoveries and a way to see Paris from above,” enthuses Joël, definitely hooked. One last shot of freedom, before perhaps disappearing for good.