da field. Sport. ” Finally ! “, some will say. If the countdown to the last year before the start of the Olympic Games does not begin until July 26, now is the time for practical work for the Games Organizing Committee. Starting on 9 July, the Paris 2024 teams must carry out the first operational tests – the “test events” (“test events”) – with the organization of competitions in some Olympic venues.
It is an international sailing event, running until July 16 in Marseille, which marks the beginning of this key phase of preparation for the Games, which should allow for some adjustments, if necessary. In August, open water swimming, triathlon and archery will follow in Paris, or even rowing and canoeing in Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne).
For the actors of Paris 2024, this could be a parenthesis in a heavy context that fuels many questions. Like the one born with the urban riots: if a crisis like this were repeated in a year, what would happen? Could security be guaranteed when the necessary means for the Games are not yet available? Would the Olympics have been kept?
Before these riots, it was the possibility of seeing the protest movement for pension reform resurrect – brought to social media through the keyword “No withdrawal, no Olympics” – that raised questions. They remain relevant. Just like those related to the closing of the budget for the organization of the Games or even the transport capacity in the Ile-de-France region to be there.
Support for the Games has declined
And then there is this sword of Damocles over Paris 2024: isn’t the organization of the Games in danger of being invested in investigations for the illegal withdrawal of interest, misappropriation of public funds, favoritism and concealment? PNF) and targeting the CEO, Etienne Thobois, and the executive director of operations, Edouard Donnelly?
“Serene”. ” No problem “… On all these issues the official discourse aims to be reassuring. In short, everything would be fine. An element of language is recurrent, above all with regards to the social context: there is only one year to go before the Games and it should constitute a parenthesis of national unity.
However, the latter is far from certain. French support for the Games is decreasing: 58% consider it a good thing, or 11 points less in three months (18 points less in eighteen months), according to an Odoxa poll carried out on 21 and 22 June, immediately after the searches carried out, at the request of the PNF, at the Paris 2024 headquarters and Solideo, the delivery company for the Olympic works.
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