ZCZC
BSP-25
OLY-2024-FRA-FRANCE
Paris launches works on 2024 Olympic village
SAINT-OUEN, France, Nov 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The French government on
Monday launched construction on a massive project to build from scratch the
village for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, a development that aims to
reinvigorate the poorest area in the country.
The Olympic village, which will house some 15,000 athletes and officials,
is being built in the Seine-Saint-Denis area north of Paris, which for years
has suffered from social tensions and neglect.
But the project is also controversial locally as it will force the
relocation of residents, businesses and even schools in the area where the
village is to be constructed.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe launched the works, which are set to last
over three years, in the suburb of Saint-Ouen.
Putting a strong emphasis on legacy, the authorities plan after the games
to reconfigure the area into a new neighbourhood that will offer a total of
3,000 homes and also increase participation in sports.
“If we want them (the Games) to be a success we must make sure that all
this organisation, all this financing and this mobilisation does not just
vanish when the Olympic flame goes out,” said Philippe as he launched the
works.
“It needs to last,” he added.
– ‘Idiotic acts’ –
Legacy is now a huge aspect of Olympic developments, especially after the
success of the London 2012 Olympics which helped breathe new life into the
east of the British capital.
There have already been protests locally against the Olympic village
project, which requires the clearing of a zone that is home to over 20
businesses, three schools, a hotel, a student residence and a residence for
foreign workers.
“We have been here for 40 years and now there is no longer any space for
us,” said Boubacar Diallo, who represents foreign workers living in a
residence.
Two new residences should be finished by 2022 to house all those affected.
But the residents are rejecting the temporary housing on offer until they are
completed.
Responding to the criticism, Solideo, the public company overseeing all
the works, insisted the local area would get a boost.
“What is going to happen over the next 3-4 years is compensation for what
has not happened the last 30 years”, it said.
The budget for the games amounts to 6.8 billion euros ($7.6 billion), 1.5
billion of which will come from the state.
The French authorities have long expressed concern over the stark
disparities in the Paris area, with wealthy citizens concentrated in the
centre but northern areas far less well-off.
A report in June said rising property prices had widened the gap between
rich and poor in the Paris region, where the number of people living in
poverty has increased.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2030HRS