cit is your city, your birthplace, where you have lived for years, your beloved city, and yet you do not recognize it. The slogan that had been circulating for a long time was this: “Fuck you, it's going to be hellish, we won't be able to move, there will be congestion, it will be terrible, unbearable. »
But very quickly, you knew you wanted to stay. You wanted to see, with your own eyes. To understand Participate. Participate in it. A century since the Olympic Games took place in Paris…
cit is your city, your birthplace, where you have lived for years, your beloved city, and yet you do not recognize it. The slogan that had been circulating for a long time was this: “Screw it, it will be hellish, we won't be able to move, there will be congestion, it will be terrible, unbearable. »
But very quickly, you knew you wanted to stay. You wanted to see, with your own eyes. To understand Participate. Participate in it. A century since the Olympic Games took place in Paris. You weren't going to miss this.
“Okay, are you staying? Serious? »
As early as March, your neighborhood had begun to transform with the impressive construction of the Beach Volleyball Arena at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, then the Invalides Stadium, for archery. Impossible to cross the Champ-de-Mars now. Four bus routes diverted. The moaners had moaned even louder.
“Paris and the Olympics? Nobody is ready, it will be a disaster. »
But the discourse had begun to change, in May, with the arrival of the flame on “Belem”, in Marseille. The fervor had increased by a step. Later, the opening ceremony on the Seine he had reached the mark. Most, like you, appreciated it, found it amazing. Others, less so. It was a good fight. You shed a tear, like millions, as you listen to Céline Dion sing, bright and emotional, perched on the second floor of a triumphant Eiffel Tower. See this prodigious metal horse go by, galloping down the river in the drizzle, his rider surrounded by the Olympic flag. What an unforgettable sight!
Paris shines. Paris radiates. Paris vibrates. Paris sings. Paris is dancing. In the rain and in the sun
“How? You're not going during the Olympics? What an idea! You're going to regret it. »
Since July, in the “red zones”, it's as if time stopped to make way for sport and everything related to it. Notice an unprecedented calm, because in these places the car no longer passes or barely passes. The silence of isolation? Nothing to see. Nothing to cause anxiety. The heart of Paris has become pedestrian, and hordes of calm and good spectators stroll and display their flag.
Taxis and restaurateurs are disappointed, the Olympics are a failure. But you see smiles, enthusiasm, joy everywhere. Discover police officers from around the world coming to help, wearing their uniforms and happy to be there.
Paris shines. Paris radiates. Paris vibrates. Paris sings. Paris is dancing. In the rain and in the sun. In stormy weather and heat waves, in real life and on TV. Paris is truly the most telegenic capital in the world.
“So you survive?” Is it a mess? oh ok By no means? »
Here and there, from the Concorde to the École Militaire, through the Grand Palais, through the Butte Montmartre, the cries of wild spectators of which you are one are raised every day. The countless volunteers, recognizable by their green, pink and blue polo shirts and multicolored hats, also flash a tireless smile. What an organization!
Just a stone's throw from your house, the triathlon takes place like a 20 km walk and you have to stand up to see through the fence of stretched phones. When you go to the Tuileries, it's clear that Paris has a new star: the Olympic cauldron draws crowds day and night with a peak when it goes off in the dark every evening after 9pm. What splendor!
Your Parisian friends are now divided into two camps. Those who fled and those who stayed. The first, guess what, he probably regrets. Some even returned at the last minute to get a taste of this little-known and unique Paris. With the happy gang that has been there since the beginning, fervently share streams of photos and impressions via WhatsApp, from Saint-Denis to Versailles via La Défense.
It doesn't matter if you don't know the rules of fencing, archery, dressage or judo by heart.
You will be able to say with insane pride: “Paris 2024? I was there. »