The announcement, at the end of November, of the traffic plan in Paris during the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games caused concern among local residents and traders – at least those to whom we spoke. The four-zone system imagined by police chief Laurent Nuñez, Cojo and the City of Paris provides for numerous restrictions. The circulation of motorized vehicles will be prohibited in particular in the areas closest to the competition sites (except for accredited people) and subject to exemption in a slightly wider area, where a strong flow of spectators is expected: the sector bringing together the Trocadéro, the Champ-de-Mars, the Invalides, the Grand Palais and the Concorde in Paris, or around the Olympic village, the Stade de France and the aquatic center in Saint-Denis.
“Find out”
The president of the Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet, returned to the criticisms which followed these announcements during a major press conference “2023 assessment/2024 perspectives” held this Tuesday at noon. The former Olympic champion defended “a lot of work carried out in recent months to minimize the impact on economic players and local residents as much as possible”, recalling that it was not “the entire city which would be blocked” either. . He praises the “pedagogical effort” of the organizers, who by revealing the plan so early “give visibility” to organize.
“We want people to enjoy these Games. Obviously, there will be some impacts and nuisances, we cannot organize an event like the Olympics without any impact, but we really tried to reduce them, he insisted. Our message is “find out”, you have all the documents available. » Perimeter maps and a summary table of authorized persons can be downloaded on the Paris prefecture website. Exemption requests must be submitted on a platform put online a priori in March.
All the politicians mobilized on transport, yes yes
But the return of the QR code to have the right to travel in certain areas of the capital goes down poorly with some, who wearily see it as a resurgence of the confinement period. “Our desire is to maintain economic activity as it usually is during this period,” replied the general director of Paris 2024, Etienne Thobois. It’s not about people staying at home, the goal is precisely to have maximum fluidity, to ensure that competition areas are easily accessible on foot or by bike. »
As for the question of public transport, the subject of small phrases and quarrels against a backdrop of political ulterior motives in recent weeks between the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, the president of the region Valérie Pécresse and the minister in charge of the sector Clément Beaune, the Cojo says he observes this from afar. “I rely on the relationship I have with each of them directly. And I can tell you that they are available and mobilized to provide solutions and make these Games a success,” assured Tony Estanguet.
During the two months of competition, the transport offer must be 15% higher than it usually is in summer. Not insurmountable in itself, except that this increase will be concentrated on a few strategic axes leading to competition venues and fan zones, which could lead to saturation. “Solutions are being discussed and the list of subjects is decreasing,” promised the boss of Cojo. Listening to him, everything is going well, therefore, seven months before the start of the Games.