like the Olympic way, Paris discovers the “gray area clock” – Libération

2024-07-18 16:16:00

This Thursday, July 18, tourists and Parisians are wandering, confused, around the protected area where the opening ceremony will take place. From the Grand Palais to the Louvre, “Libération” runs along a section of the right bank.

8th district of Paris. On our way to the Place de la Concorde, through the Champs-Elysées surrounded by an armada of police and gendarmes this Thursday, July 18, we can read on the statue of General de Gaulle: “There is a twenty-year pact between the greatness of France and the freedom of the world.” Riders are looking for French grandeur on this sunny morning. “Can we go that way to Les Invalides?” asked a small woman with gray hair who was looking towards the Grand Palais. “It’s a little annoying,” grumbles another. “The cross and the flag!” make additions the first one.

For the first day of the establishment of the internal security and counter-terrorism zone (SILT), Libe Cooperation close to the right bank of Paris, entering the part of this “gray area” which is the host of the opening ceremony on July 26. Only local residents, professionals and visitors with reservations at the hotel, restaurant or museum can travel there. Everyone must present a digital pass (QR code), obtained on site www.pass-jeux.gouv.fr.

#JO2024 | The gray area? Red zone? Am I allowed to travel in 🦶, in 🚲🛴🛵🚗?

2. Find it in our article 👇
➡️cards
➡️List of people authorized to circulate on the site of the ceremony #JO2024 from July 18 to 26
👇 pic.twitter.com/dyHGo4nWH3

– Prefpolice (@prefpolice) May 29, 2024

The important thing is rather scientific for this hot Friday. Navigating the place de la Concorde, we stop at one of the many crossing points that pass through the “grey area”. A gendarme asked us for our pass, then gave us permission to pass “difference” no pain no gain. “Today it’s raised, tomorrow it will be more hermetic.” Can we expect inconsistent views? The gendarmes have fun: “You won’t be disappointed.” Before you begin: “But we have to learn that we’re good, right?”

“But it’s marked in the red zone and it’s good, right?”

In any case, they are teachers. Rue de Rivoli, we quickly realized that not everyone has taken note of the new rules. Many tourists try to rush in, convinced that they have been allowed. “Most were informed a month ago on the site, have not looked at the rules since then, and are surprised that it has changed,” know the police. A man working at the American embassy introduced himself : “We received an email telling us that it’s okay, because we can’t work on the phone much. I will make my QR code, but I hope it will arrive quickly. A cyclist asks: “But it’s marked in the red zone and it’s good, right?” “Yes, but that’s a gray area, sir.” And the three bikes turned.

Second note, tourists seem to be better informed than Parisians. “It’s always like that,” smiled a policeman. Bicycles run like bullets at the checkpoints from the rue de Rivoli, pedestrians are among themselves, taxis are stuck in these new cul-de-sacs. And meanwhile, families of Japanese or Mexican tourists, prepared for weeks, kindly show their passports. However, as we approach the Palais-Royal, the nuance ends up fading.

“Do you have a QR code?”

On the part of the police, instructions were given to redirect the tourists towards the Alma Bridge. Or towards the bridge of Alexandre III. It depends on the check points. “We received seven pages of documents at 11 p.m. for 5 a.m. this morning.” whispers a gendarme, suddenly cut off by the big eyes of his boss. Yes, that is a secret. Other soldiers we interviewed would confirm half-heartedness or shyness. Coming from Doubs, Melun or the Ardennes to lend a hand to their Parisian colleagues, groups share coffee and make changes. And repeat again and again “Do you have a QR code?” to the infinite zero is lost. Over time, the knowledge becomes less clear. “And it’s only the first day,” laughs one of them, while his companion screams “The Louvre is on the left!”

It is actually forbidden to pass through the Place du Carrousel to go to the most famous museum in the world if you do not work there. “How do I know, I don’t have Internet?” commented a young man passing by, showing off his old phone. We’re trying to get some impressions of a bicycle rolling through the dam: “But the fuck, I have a terrible job!”

A little further west, another passer-by shouted in front of the barriers separating the Olympic route in Rivoli: “I don’t know my hometown anymore… Luckily I’m leaving for the summer.” Not the idea of ​​Marie-Claire, a septuagenarian with impeccable cleavage and a tricolor polo shirt. He believes that“You have to be really stupid… Ah, stupid not to understand the instructions.” He praised the police “smiling, kind, friendly”, which ensures passage to the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor footbridge, the last corridor which allows you to cross the Seine without a QR code before the Notre-Dame bridge, two kilometers further. Then, to cross the Seine, there are only the Sully bridges, and finally, to the east, the Charles-de-Gaulle bridge.