2024-07-27 13:24:02
Only a few hours separate France from the curtain rising on the XXXIII Olympic Games.
As reported by Day.Az, according to data from the sociological service Elabe, 47 percent of the French are “indifferent” to the event, 28 percent are “skeptical” and only 25 percent are “enthusiastic”.
Such indicators are observed in all groups of the population, be it employees, residents of the Paris region or young French people aged 25 to 34, writes TASS. Only among voters voting in the elections for the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, the group of “enthusiasts” showed 50 percent on the eve of the opening of the Olympics.
74 percent of respondents believe that the Games will not improve the mood of the French, at least 70 percent doubt the ability of the Paris Olympics to promote national unity, and 59 percent think that the Games will not strengthen patriotism. Less than half of those surveyed believe that the Olympics can give a boost to the economy.
The authorities’ information and propaganda campaign around the preparation for the Olympics, as one can judge, did not have much success. Thus, the majority of French people, according to the Elabe questionnaire, did not particularly trust the reports of various departments about the significant improvement in the quality of water in the Seine.
Despite the cleanup work carried out to prepare the river for triathlon and marathon swimming competitions, only 17 percent of respondents would be willing to swim in its waters if the opportunity presented itself. While 83 percent of respondents would rule out such a swim for themselves. The demonstration swims of Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Caster and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo did not contribute to the Seine’s popularity as a swimming body.
Over the past few weeks, restaurateurs and hoteliers have been complaining that Paris is suffering from a shortage of both tourists and locals. According to Alain Fontaine, president of the French Association of Maitres d’Hotels, there have been no tourists or Parisians for a month now, meaning that the expected increase in revenue is not in sight.
Apparently, instead of rejoicing at the French Olympic mission, many Parisians preferred to leave the capital. The increasing traffic jams (the opening day of the Olympics was dubbed “Black Friday” by motorists in advance), rising prices, and the increasing overload of public transport inclined many to leave for the provinces.
French expert on the geopolitical aspects of sports Jean-Baptiste Guegan notes that in the last two decades, the public in most Western countries has been against hosting the Olympics. Since 1997, two-thirds of referendums on the organization of the Games have ended in victory for opponents of these competitions. According to the researcher, this outcome is explained by the fact that the cost of organizing such a two-week event has become astronomical, and the projects themselves rarely benefit the local population.