French split over whether Paris ready to host 2024 Summer Olympics
More than half of the French believe Paris won’t be ready to host the Olympics this summer, but voters on the left are more optimistic than those on the right, according to a new poll.
The influence of political perspective on how the French view their capital’s Olympic readiness was identified in the poll of 1,013 adults throughout France, conducted for Europe 1 radio, CNews news network, and Le Journal de Dimance, a weekly newspaper.
The poll, posted online March 29, found only 47% of the French see the country as ready to hold for the 2024 Summer Games, while 52% say France is unprepared for one of the world’s biggest sporting events, which starts July 26 and continue through Aug. 11.
The divide widens, though, when politics come into play. Two-thirds of those who align with France’s Socialist Party believe the Games are good to go, while slightly more, 67%, of members of the far-right party formerly known as the National Front, say the opposite.
Overall, 57% of those on the left say France is ready for the Summer Games and 57% of those on right say it’s not.
The results come as France grapples with increased security worries stemming from international events including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the threat of Islamic extremist attacks that have already resulted in limited access to the unique parade of nations down the Seine River during the Opening Ceremonies of the Games.
Also contributing to concerns about the Summer Games is the controversial decision by the International Olympic Committee to permit Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago with help from Belarus.
Nearly 2,200 reinforcements have been sought from 46 countries to bolster Olympics security “in certain critical areas, such as dog-handling capabilities where the needs are enormous,” France’s AFP News reported, citing a pair of anonymous government sources who described the request for foreign assistance as “a classic move” for a big event.
Poland’s deputy prime minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, posted on X that the Polish Armed Forces is sending a “task force of our soldiers, including dog handlers,” to join the international coalition established by France. “Its main goal will be to undertake activities related to the detection of explosives and counteracting terrorist phenomena.”
France’s support for the Summer Games is likely to improve, according to Rich Perelman, founder and editor of The Sports Examiner. Perelman suggested in a column Monday, especially once the Olympic Torch Relay begins making its way through France starting in early May.
“This is hardly a new phenomenon. Opinion in host cities on the Games is often split several months out in polls, even with overwhelming applications for volunteer positions and 8.8 million tickets sold in Paris so far,” he wrote. “A better idea will come after the Olympic Torch Relay gets going and the Games seem much more real; this is often the time that positive opinions of the Games take off.”
Utah, host of the 2002 Winter Games, the first major international event after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States, has seen strong support for bringing back the Olympics. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll in February 2023 found that more than 80% of Utahns support the bid.
International Olympic Committee leaders have named Salt Lake City the preferred host for the 2034 Winter Games. A final vote by the full membership of the IOC is expected at a meeting in Paris on July 24, celebrated as Pioneer Day in Utah.
At that same meeting, a final decision is also expected from the IOC about whether the 2030 Winter Games will be held in the French Alps.
