What is Wrong With Paris Olympics?
13:37 26.07.2024 (Updated: 11:21 29.07.2024)
© AFP 2023 CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSONFrench President Emmanuel Macron (R) and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet (L) visit of the "Stade Tour Eiffel" in Champ-de-Mars in Paris, France, 24 July 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games.
![French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet (L) visit of the Stade Tour Eiffel in Champ-de-Mars in Paris, France, 24 July 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games. French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and President of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet (L) visit of the Stade Tour Eiffel in Champ-de-Mars in Paris, France, 24 July 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 26.07.2024](https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/07/1a/1067643673_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_d76aca959b917ed44e23432e6b0f0d99.jpg)
© AFP 2023 CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
Subscribe
Competition in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games will run from Saturday, July 27 to Sunday, August 11, with thousands of athletes from over 200 national teams taking part in competition in 32 different sports.
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris will kick off with a lavish opening ceremony Friday evening, with some 7,500 athletes traveling up a 6 km stretch of the famous Seine River on 85 boats as 300,000 spectators look on. “Tomorrow you will have one of the most incredible opening ceremonies,” French President Emmanuel Macron promised on Thursday.
But before even having a chance to begin, the Games have already been marred by a surprisingly long list of problems:
Politicization: Traditional Olympic powerhouse Russia has been barred from the Games amid the ongoing proxy war with NATO in Ukraine, with Belarus also banned. Interestingly, neither Ukraine nor its Western sponsors face similar restrictions. Israel and its US sponsors have not been banned from competition despite the ongoing war in Gaza.
Heightened terror alert: French officials reported foiling a series of violent plots this week targeting the Olympics, with seven terror suspects arrested in neighboring Belgium, and European officials are on high alert for threats emanating from ISIS* offshoot ISIS-K.
© AFP 2023 STEPHANE DE SAKUTINFrench national police officers stand guard on the Invalides bridge on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 25, 2024.
![French national police officers stand guard on the Invalides bridge on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 25, 2024. French national police officers stand guard on the Invalides bridge on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 25, 2024. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 26.07.2024](https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/07/1a/1067643870_0:0:3045:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_d032882a54f7892c500aa33aef66577a.jpg)
French national police officers stand guard on the Invalides bridge on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 25, 2024.
© AFP 2023 STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN
Strikes: French labor unions’ ability to organize paralyzing strike action in key economic sectors is bad news for the Paris Games, which have already been dubbed the ‘Strike Olympics’ by some pundits. Everyone, from hotel employees and airport workers to opening Games' dancers, is protesting or threatening to go off the job amid wage disputes.
Sabotage: On the eve of the Games, France’s world-famous high-speed rail lines have been targeted by what authorities characterized as a “coordinated sabotage” campaign. State rail giant SNCF reported a “massive attack” Thursday night “aimed at paralyzing the high-speed line network,” resulting in large-scale diversions and cancelations. The company asked “all travelers who can postpone” their trips “not to go to the station.” The chaos paralyzed multiple major transit hubs, including Paris’s Gare du Nord and Gare Montparnasse stations.
© AFP 2023 THIBAUD MORITZEmployees of SNCF railway company speak to passengers waiting for their trains' departure at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to SNCF a massive attack on a large scale hit the TGV network and many routes will have to be cancelled. SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.
![Employees of SNCF railway company speak to passengers waiting for their trains' departure at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to SNCF a massive attack on a large scale hit the TGV network and many routes will have to be cancelled. SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. Employees of SNCF railway company speak to passengers waiting for their trains' departure at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to SNCF a massive attack on a large scale hit the TGV network and many routes will have to be cancelled. SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 26.07.2024](https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/07/1a/1067644065_0:0:3072:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_aae7327f0e1bf77b7c696b4788758696.jpg)
Employees of SNCF railway company speak to passengers waiting for their trains' departure at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to SNCF a massive attack on a large scale hit the TGV network and many routes will have to be cancelled. SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations.
© AFP 2023 THIBAUD MORITZ
Food shortages: France may be known for its five-star cuisine, but apparently not in the Olympic Village, where athletes have complained about food shortages, with at least one national team resorting to packing lunches and calling in their own chef. Athletes have complained about both the quality and quantity of available food, with teams saying it’s a far cry from the Michelin-starred dining experiences they were promised.
Crime: The spotlight on Paris coming with the Games has unintentionally revealed the city’s unseemly, seedier side, with Olympians, media workers, and tourists reporting a series of crimes. The Argentinian men’s football team reported being robbed at their training camp this week. Meanwhile, Australia’s Channel Nine television reported that two of its staffers suffered a “serious physical” attack during an attempted robbery, managing to get away but “shaken up” by the incident. Last week, an Australian tourist reportedly suffered a grisly gang rape by five men.
Stinky situation: As if all these problems weren’t enough, Paris on the eve of the Olympics faces another unusual threat: a group of citizens threatening to poop in the Seine River en masse to bring attention to its unsanitary condition. That’s bad news for the athletes who are expected to plunge into the river’s waters for marathon swimming and triathlon events. Authorities have spent about 1.4 billion euros to clean up the body of water, whose problems with toxic sewage, rat infestations and high E. coli bacteria levels have long been a problem.
© AFP 2023 JOEL SAGETParis Mayor Anne Hidalgo waves before swimming in the Seine, in Paris on July 17, 2024, to demonstrate that the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics later this month. Despite an investment of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway, the Seine has been causing suspense in the run-up to the opening of the Paris Games on July 26 after repeatedly failing water quality tests.
![Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo waves before swimming in the Seine, in Paris on July 17, 2024, to demonstrate that the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics later this month. Despite an investment of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway, the Seine has been causing suspense in the run-up to the opening of the Paris Games on July 26 after repeatedly failing water quality tests. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo waves before swimming in the Seine, in Paris on July 17, 2024, to demonstrate that the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics later this month. Despite an investment of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway, the Seine has been causing suspense in the run-up to the opening of the Paris Games on July 26 after repeatedly failing water quality tests. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 26.07.2024](https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.africa/img/07e8/07/1a/1067644261_0:0:3070:2047_1920x0_80_0_0_15b45c2b5988b7e5f8a963be58ca5adb.jpg)
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo waves before swimming in the Seine, in Paris on July 17, 2024, to demonstrate that the river is clean enough to host the outdoor swimming events at the Paris Olympics later this month. Despite an investment of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to prevent sewage leaks into the waterway, the Seine has been causing suspense in the run-up to the opening of the Paris Games on July 26 after repeatedly failing water quality tests.
© AFP 2023 JOEL SAGET
* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.