During his new year address, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to make 2024 a year of "pride" for France. Of course, the president has in mind the Olympic Games, from July 26 to August 11, and the Paralympic Games, from August 28 to September 8. The eyes of the world will then be on the country, and on Paris in particular. There's no question of them turning away from this "French vintage," as Macron described it during his address. On Friday, January 26, six months before the opening ceremony, all the indicators are green, according to the organizers and public authorities.

On January 17, Nicolas Ferrand told senators that he was delighted that the Olympic construction sites were "on time," "on budget" and "at the same level of ambition" as at the start of the project. The general director of SOLIDEO can boast that the public company in charge of building the Olympic facilities is the star performer at these Games. The athletes' village, the media village and the aquatic center will all be delivered on time, with no financial impact on the Olympic competitions. It's almost a tour de force if we look back at the white elephants that dot the history of the Games.

"These Olympics will be a hit," "the magic will happen during the Games" (L'Equipe, January 2), Tony Estanguet told the press at the new year. The words of the head of the Organizing Committee were then echoed by the Minister for Sport and the Olympic Games – not yet appointed to the Education Ministry – Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who was also dreaming, in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, of "victories for France."

However, the unbridled optimism, even the cries of enthusiasm, from the public authorities and organizers contrasts with the lack of fervor for the Games. All opinion polls indicate, like the one by the Odoxa Institute in mid-November 2023, that public support, while still in the majority, is steadily eroding (65% of the French and 56% of the people in the Paris region have a favorable opinion of the Olympic Games). "We don't expect it to go back up," said a senior member of the Organizing Committee off the record in the fall.

Speculative madness

Transport and safety top the list of concerns. Already at boiling point over ticket prices, the French are now moaning about the price of a single métro ticket, which will rise from €2.15 to €4 between July 20 and September 8. Not to mention the modernization work and malfunctions in the transport network, which have been disrupting the daily lives of Paris region users for several years.

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