The arm of the Seine which crosses the Olympic village in Seine-Saint-Denis will be closed during the Paris Olympics and traffic will be transferred to “a secondary arm”, Thierry Guimbaud, general director of Voies navigables de France, said on Tuesday ( VNF). On the occasion of the signing of an agreement between the JOP organizing committee (Cojop) and VNF, he specified that the arm of the Seine “between Ile-Saint-Denis and Saint-Denis which crosses the Olympic Village” will be closed from the opening of the Olympic Village (around July 19, editor’s note) and until the end of the Paralympic Games on September 8, 2024.
This closure is decided for a “security reason”, specified Etienne Thobois, general director of Cojo. Traffic, particularly of cereals which was very important in August, will be transferred to a “secondary arm” which is no longer operated and which is in the process of being made navigable (particularly dredging, pilotage installations, etc.), work for a amount of “15 million euros”, specified VNF.
Compensation negotiated on a case-by-case basis
The closing periods linked to the holding of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on the Seine (July 26) and those linked to the open water swimming and triathlon events have not yet been defined. “There is a lot of prior discussion and consultation work which takes a very long time with the profession” and the river stakeholders, indicated Thierry Guimbaud.
These decisions will be made ultimately by the Ile-de-France regional prefecture and the police headquarters. Possible compensation linked to these closures is discussed and made by Cojo, specified Etienne Thobois. “The idea is to disrupt river activities as little as possible,” he assured.