Espirit of the Games, are you there? Seventy-eight days before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (OG), it is time to ask ourselves the question, about an event that France has not organized for a century. Since the attribution of the XXXIIIare Games, controversies, concerns took center stage, much more than the pride and enthusiasm of hosting the largest sporting event in the world.
The arrival of the Olympic flame in Marseille, Wednesday May 8, constitutes the real kick-off of a sequence during which the eyes of the whole world will be turned towards France. The popular fervor aroused by the lighting of the first Olympic cauldron and the festivities organized in the Marseille city constitutes an encouraging signal for the future. This first successful milestone, thanks to the people of Marseille, shows the way to what the Olympic and Paralympic Games can bring: an opportunity to come together during a festive and universal moment that the country needs more than ever.
The flame will now pass from hand to hand across France thanks to 10,000 torchbearers, famous or anonymous. Iconic or exemplary sportsmen, everyday heroes, families of the victims of the attacks, they represent, each at their own level, sources of inspiration, pride or compassion, who resonate with the national community at its best.
Unifying moments are too rare to ignore this one. A country cannot be content to come together solely around memorial ceremonies, however essential they may be. In a France that is increasingly polarized and too often tempted by self-denigration, the Olympic Games constitute a parenthesis as light as it is precious, which everyone is invited to take advantage of.
Obstacles overcome
Doubts about the usefulness of organizing such an event at a time of ecological transition are legitimate. Between the time Paris submitted its candidacy and the time the Olympics were awarded to it, the era changed radically. But the efforts made are far from negligible. From this point of view, Paris 2024 constitutes a bridge between the excesses of the past and what the Games should be in the future.
We can deplore the (too) high price of tickets. But, during the preparatory phase, most of the obstacles were overcome. Deadlines were met. There was no major financial deviation, even if the cost exceeded the first estimates. Not all of the transport infrastructure was able to see the light of day, but most of it was completed on time. Finally, the main challenge will be to ensure that the event is not crushed by security constraints, which are difficult to avoid given the international context.
France has nothing to gain by missing its Games, regardless of the few disgruntled people who predict failure and revel in it in advance. The elected politicians have understood this well. After the disagreements of the first months, everyone is finally pulling in the same direction. In a little less than three months, it will be about giving the rest of the world a positive image of the country, and convincing ourselves that the French can rise to the height of previous editions to make these Olympics a source of happiness. collective and national pride.