Paris 2024: Cycling already a winner
InvestigationThe 'first cycling Games in history,' as the organizers call them, are based on the promise of 415 kilometers of bike lanes, some of which have been specially created for the event and will be retained after the Olympic Games. Some hope that the sporting event will stimulate bike use in the Paris metropolis, as it did after the pandemic.
The Hôtel San Régis is described as an "intimate address" on its website. It's nestled in the heart of the upscale Parisian "golden triangle" near the Grand Palais, where rooms will be rented for thousands of euros per night during the Olympics, from July 26 to August 11. However, this five-star hotel in the 8th arrondissement is also located in the "red zone," an area off-limits to motorized vehicles. "And the Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau metro station will be closed," said hotel manager Sarah Georges. From May to September, the hotel will lend its guests and its 50 or so employees four Gitane electric bicycles, supplied by Tim Mobilité, a company specializing in company bicycles. It's a first for this upmarket establishment. "The bike will be ideal for getting around the neighborhood," said the manager.
While modest, this contribution to urban mobility illustrates the adaptation of economic players to Olympic circumstances. The Games "in the city," in the heart of landmark-rich Paris – the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (north of the city) – will shake up habits like never before. Moreover, it will encourage bicycle use.
For a few weeks, the capital will be transformed. Some of the city's residents and regular visitors will have left to be replaced by millions of spectators. Based on the Rio 2016 and London 2012 editions, the Paris tourist office has drawn up a profile of Olympic tourists: 60% male, aged under 40 on average, with a fairly high standard of living and regularly taking part in sports. In London in 2012, visitors much preferred dining out, going out or shopping to visiting museums. In Paris, terraces will be allowed to open until midnight, and every arrondissement except the 7th will have at least one fan zone. In short, it's going to be noisy.
This fits perfectly with the "15-minute city" envisioned by people-oriented urban planning theorists. Yet, travel habits change in cities during celebratory periods, as observed every year in Avignon during the theater festival in July, in Lille with the Braderie flea market in September and in Strasbourg during the Christmas market from the end of November.
'A great party, with lots of bikes everywhere'
In the Paris metro, where the wait to board a train could be as long as 20 minutes, passenger resilience will be influenced by the outside temperature. Cars and scooters, which now account for only 5% of journeys in the city, according to a study published on April 4 by the Institut Paris Région, will experience even more challenging traffic conditions than usual. That leaves cycling, which already accounts for over 11% of journeys within central Paris and reaches 10% in the outer areas.
Number of bicycles counted in Paris, in thousands
Data supplied by permanent and temporary counters located on cycle paths
Infographic: Le Monde
Source: City of Paris
"It could be a great party, with lots of bikes everywhere," said Anne Monmarché, president of the Paris en Selle ("Paris in the Seat") organization, who plans to attend several events. "A third of ticket holders [for an event] are from the Ile-de-France [Paris] region," said Louis Belenfant, head of the Collectif Vélo Ile-de-France (Ile-de-France Bicycle Collective, CVIF), which comprises 42 organizations. "They are familiar with the city, more forgiving of its workings and have grown accustomed to cycling occasionally."
Organizers have understood the importance of promoting cycling as an individual, space-saving mode of transport that, as famed French-American musician Joe Dassin once sang, is better than cars. "The only time the transport minister, appointed at the beginning of February, spoke about cycling was in connection with the Olympic Games," said Belenfant in mid-April. Without showing the same enthusiasm for the subject as his predecessors Clément Beaune or Elisabeth Borne, Patrice Vergriete said on television channel TF1 on March 14: "Maybe it's time to get your bike out again."
The sight of thousands of cyclists heading toward the Olympic venues will be a wonderful illustration of the "sustainable Games" touted in the bid. What's more, it will encourage others. "We could draw inspiration from this for major events, such as the Main Square music festival [every year at the beginning of July], by installing short-term rentals and mass parking," said Françoise Rossignol, vice president (miscellaneous left) of the Arras urban community, in charge of mobility.
Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic led to the creation of the "Corona lanes," the Paris Games will rely on 415 kilometers of "Olympic lanes," with 120 being specially set up for the occasion, most of which will be permanent. Among the most privileged departments are Seine-Saint-Denis, but also Paris, where without this, "it would never have been possible to build so many facilities in the western part of the city, where elected officials are reluctant," said Jacques Baudrier, Communist deputy to the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo (Parti Socialiste). In Hauts-de-Seine west of Paris, on the other hand, progress is concentrated "around the Olympic sites, La Défense and Colombes," said Belenfant. Cyclists who have long been hoping for a safer D920, a major road running through the south of the department, will have to wait a little longer.
Expanded bike stations
A cycling-forward Olympics hasn't always been a given. In 2021, the organizers were still relying on a goal of "100% public transport," without imagining that some spectators would get around by bike. The Ile-de-France pro-cycling movement saw this as a challenge. "The planets aligned for us," said Belenfant, highlighting the commitment of individuals who recognized the Paris region's cycling potential, "whether that's Anne Hidalgo, Elisabeth Borne [former prime minister], Michel Cadot [interministerial delegate for the Games] or Valérie Pécresse [right-wing Les Républicains president of the Ile-de-France region]."
It still took some doing. The term "Olympiste" ("Olympic bike path") used on a WhatsApp group one day in the winter of 2022-2023 by Hugo Tanné, Paris en Selle's representative in the 10th arrondissement, raised eyebrows at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, which is very sensitive to its image. Nor did the organizers appreciate a demonstration staged in front of the Stade de France in May 2022 by Paris en Selle. Activists had waved flags with bicycle wheels replaced by the Olympic rings to highlight the lack of cycling lanes for the Games. "Things became heated," said Monmarché.
Finally, the cycle lanes are here. Now, the challenge is to provide each user with a bike, preferably not a dilapidated one. All available resources have been put to use. The Vélib' self-service bicycle system has added 3,000 units to its fleet, as well as huge temporary stations. "Given the annual loss rate, to reach 3,000 bikes, we had to order 10,000," said Stéphane Volant, president of operator Smovengo, in 2023.
The companies Lime, Dott and Tier, which provide their green, red or yellow electric bikes, have been given the green light by the City of Paris to expand their fleets. The Ile-de-France region's Véligo service is rolling out a "special offer," with 2,000 electric bikes available to rent for one or two months, instead of the usual six months. Nevertheless, Belenfant does have one regret: "There is no universal app for all operators to reserve a bike." On the other hand, monitored parking close to the sites is designed so that anyone can leave their electric battery or helmet there if need be.
However, beyond the visitors' enthusiastic pedaling, will regular cyclists still be able to get around Paris? Experience shows that when a stretch of road is closed, the motorized traffic diverted elsewhere makes cycling journeys less safe. Marion Soulet, a Paris en Selle board member, recalled one evening in September 2023, during the Rugby World Cup, when the Place de la Concorde was closed to cars. Just 200 meters away, "Place de la Madeleine was drowning in inextricable traffic jams. Waiters were directing traffic amid the honking horns."
Summer 2024 will not be immune to this type of mess. The maps on the Anticiperlesjejeux.gouv.fr website, designed by the French government, feature two tabs, corresponding respectively to "public transport" and "road." However, according to a consultation on April 30, the "road" tab only indicates the areas where motorized traffic is prohibited. Cycle paths are not included, as if cycling has not yet been fully integrated into the mindset of the Games' organizers.