Paris Locals Boycott Olympics Over Security Concerns: Exploring Real Sentiments

Politicians expressed outrage on Wednesday, claiming that the Paris police chief’s plans for stringent security measures for the summer Olympics in 2019 amounted to an infringement on citizens’ rights. Residents of the prohibited zones would also be required to register any guests who might like to view the action from their houseboat, balcony, window, or rooftop.

Paris Olympics Security Measures

The opening ceremony, which will take place on boats on the Seine River and mark the first time the Games are being kicked off outside of a sporting venue, has raised security worries, according to police and other observers. A legitimate justification for being at a perimeter must be given by anybody entering it, according to Nunez. 

He declared that there will be stringent restrictions on motorized traffic during the Games. Nunez stated that during the July 26 opening ceremony, which would have “very large” high-security, or “red,” perimeters, special regulations will be in place. “The only people getting through will be people with a valid reason, in other words people going to their hotel, or their home, or people with a ticket for the ceremony,” he stated. Open metro stations cannot exist within a security perimeter unless all individuals are subjected to body searches, according to Nunez. According to him, if other stops are too little to accommodate large numbers of passengers, they may be closed.

Public Perception of Paris Olympics Security

A wide range of political parties reacted negatively to the announcements, which Nunez said were still being finalized with the government and Paris city hall. The hallmarks of a state of emergency are these measures, according to deputy Philippe Bonnecarrere, a centrist. The fact that they would be used “in a situation that is supposed to be happy” struck him as “curious”. The centrist senator Nathalie Goulet described the actions as “an attack on liberties”. 

She said that the QR code necessitated “collecting and storing data” and that the government should provide “an explanation” about data protection. Eric Coquerel, a far-left deputy, stated, “This is outrageous, even worse than what we feared.” Another communist MP, Damien Maudet, predicted that the Olympic Games will have a liberticidal flavor.

Boycott Movements

Numerous nations have voiced significant opposition to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) plans to permit athletes from Belarus and Russia to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Up to 40 countries may boycott the following game in such a case, which would render the entire event meaningless. Ukraine threatened to pull its athletes from the Paris Olympics if it occurred. Later, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Estonia also made it clear that the IOC’s efforts to allow athletes from Belarus and Russia to compete, even under a neutral flag, should be refused. 

Alternative Perspectives on Security Measures

Left-wing and some centrist politicians disagree with these security measures, viewing them as an infringement on people’s rights. “These measures are the hallmark of a state of emergency,” stated Philippe Bonnecarrere, the centrist deputy, as one of the sharpest declarations. The policies, according to moderate senator Nathalie Goulet, “attack on freedoms.”She demanded an explanation from the government about data protection, claiming that the mandatory QR code “involves collecting and storing data.” Eric Coquerel, the deputy from the extreme left, stated, “This is scandalous, even worse than we feared.” “The Olympic Games will have a freedom-killing taste,” said another left-wing deputy, Damien Maudet.

Previous Olympic Events and Security Concerns

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is hoping that the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris would be the “light at the end of the tunnel” following two Olympics marred by the COVID-19 pandemic; nevertheless, before a special opening ceremony on July 26, organizers must overcome significant security obstacles. The IOC had been anticipating a return to Olympic normalcy in Paris following the virus-related cancellation of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021.

Local Residents’ Sentiments Towards Olympics

It is quite common to discover Parisians these days who are content to detest the Games and all that accompanies them. “I’m voting in the European elections on June 9 and will be leaving the country until September,” 65-year-old Evelyne says as she passes past the Place de la Concorde, which is the venue for many activities, including breakdancing, or as the French wryly refer to it, le breaking. It will be intolerable in Paris,” she says. It’s hard to move around, park, or accomplish anything else. I don’t want to be involved in the Games since Madame Hidalgo destroyed Paris.” Another resident said on social media, “How long is it until the police chief simply asks us Parisians to leave the city?”

Communication from Paris Olympics Organizers

In letters to the Olympic sponsors, the organizing committee, and the mayor of Paris, more than 70 groups have expressed concern about the possibility of “social cleansing”—the expulsion of underprivileged people from the city before the Games. Doctors of the World’s Paul Alauzy was interviewed by InfoMigrants. The authorities do not want visitors to witness homeless or illegal individuals sleeping outside and doing laundry on Parisian streets. We worry that they will use all of their oppressive tools, such as prohibitions on food distribution or restrictions against begging in train stations, to drive these individuals out of tourist areas.

Conclusion

Considering the past several weeks have been filled with terrible news items, that conclusion may seem inevitable. Initially, the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, abruptly announced that transportation for the Games the following summer would “not be ready in time”. Then it was revealed that, contrary to what the Paris bid for the Games had stated, buses and metros would not be free for competitors’ tickets; instead, rates would quadruple for the six weeks of the Olympics and Paralympics. The head of the hoteliers’ union said that the security plan was “so complicated I get a headache just looking at it” when the police chief disclosed that his strategy included no fewer than four distinct exclusion zones surrounding each Olympic stadium.