Organisers are putting the finishing touches on a sporting and cultural opus they hope will transform Paris and unite its residents — but for some, the Olympics are an expensive extravagance, and something that must be stopped.
Officially, they're due to start in about five weeks. But for Pierre Rabadan, the Olympics have been going since 2020.Now, he's the city's deputy mayor, and putting the finishing touches on a sporting and cultural opus he believes will transform the French capital and leave a glittering legacy."Eight years might seem far away, but it's tomorrow," Mr Rabadan says. "You have to manage things now.
For instance, the opening ceremony will be held along the river Seine, rather than a gleaming, purpose-built stadium. He's part of a group of about 200 young migrants — predominantly from East Africa — who've been occupying the Maison des Métallos cultural space in central Paris since early April.City Hall, which runs the venue, issued a press release calling for federal authorities to help find more permanent accommodation for the group.
"We were invited here to come and have coffee. Once we got in, we said we won't go out because there are a lot of young people sleeping outside that don't have a home," Aboubakar says. Conditions inside are basic. Everyone sleeps on the floor. Food is provided by charities. The future is uncertain."They are committed to organising the Olympics and leaving us behind," he says.Mr Rabadan describes homelessness in Paris as a "difficult" matter and points to the fact part of the Olympic village will be converted into social housing when the Games are over as how municipal authorities are trying to tackle it.
Authorities are hoping the Olympics have a transformative effect on the suburb. Locals, however, are split."It will highlight this beautiful city," she says. "Sport and Paralympic sport are also fundamental in terms of health, in terms of lifestyle and in terms of wellbeing, and I think it's really essential today.Another couple say they're planning to leave, and that the preparations have been a mess.
Upstream, some people say they're planning to "take a shit in the Seine" as part of an anti-Olympics protest to disrupt the photo opportunity.But Mr Rabadan is philosophical about the backlash, saying he was warned there'd be negativity as the event got closer."I don't think it's a good option, but if they want to do it, they can," he says.
"We're not the kind of campaign that wants to just push the Olympics into another city," Gigi Droesh, one of the group's organisers, says. And that's something he wants disillusioned people in the Queensland capital to keep in mind over the next eight years.
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