It’s light, but it’s a notable inflection nonetheless. In November 2023, by declaring “We’re not going to be ready” regarding the preparation of Ile-de-France transport for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP), Anne Hidalgo caused a storm among those involved in the organization of the event. “I would say today that we still have to continue working, because we are not yet ready”declared, Thursday January 25, the mayor (Socialist Party) of Paris who was the guest of the Télématin show on France2.
But she also wanted to emphasize that the situation should be under control this summer: “Will we be able to travel during the Games and enjoy this moment? Yes “assured Ms. Hidalgo, adding that“there will be additional transport, additional shuttles… We will finish extending the tramway to Porte Dauphine”.
In December, the public authorities sought to reassure about the offer which will be put in place from mid-July. This will be increased by 15% on average compared to a classic summer – and much more on the most popular lines – because the organizers of Paris 2024 have promised 100% access to competition sites by public transport and that it will be necessary to transport as many people as a working day in the middle of winter throughout Ile-de-France – but over a smaller area.
On the RER C which serves, to the west, Les Invalides, Roland-Garros, Parc des Princes, Versailles (horse riding), Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (golf, velodrome, mountain biking), capacity will for example be increased 50% compared to winter. On line 9 (which leads to Parc des Pirnces in particular), it will be 50% more than a typical summer.
“You shouldn’t lie to people”
However, Ms. Hidalgo was keen to emphasize that“there are still problems” on everyday transport. “You shouldn’t lie to people. When people struggle with everyday transportation, I’m not going to tell them “It’s great, it’s fixed”, no”she said.
During her wishes for 2024, on January 16, the president of the Ile-de-France Mobilités transport authority (IDFM), Valérie Pécresse, asked the SNCF and the RATP to restore by March a transport offer equivalent to 100% of pre-covid.
Tuesday January 23, Jean Castex, the CEO of RATP announced the launch of a campaign of 5,300 recruitments (after 6,600 in 2023), with, in particular, the ambition to continue hiring on the driver side (320 in the metro , 1,350 for buses), where the lack of staff and absences partly explain the problems encountered on the bus or the metro.
In November 2023, five metro lines had a regularity rate of less than 85% during peak hours, largely due to staffing problems, according to the president of Ile-de-France mobilities, Valérie Pécresse.
On Wednesday, it was the SNCF which, in turn, announced its intention to recruit 900 people in 2024 for its Ile-de-France network (after a record year in 2023 with 1,350 hires). Here too, it is about restoring quality service, particularly on the RER, and being ready for the Olympic Games.
According to IDFM statistics, the regularity during peak hours of RER B (operated jointly with RATP) C and D fluctuates between 80% and 82%. Ms. Pécresse wants to see this figure at least exceed 90%.
Our selection of articles on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Find all our content on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games:
Transport: the authorities reassure but the challenges remain immense
Everything you need to know about traffic conditions during the Games
Algorithmic video surveillance will be “deployed in a limited manner” during the Games
“The Stade de France, let’s be clear, is not a plan B” for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games
Terrorist threat, organization, personnel… Justice is getting into working order
Olympic projects arrive on time
Bernard Thibault: “For the 2024 Games, our objective is to demonstrate that major events are not incompatible with high social rights”
- The preparation of French athletes
Kenny Atkinson, the unexpected American asset of the French basketball team
For Renaud Lavillenie, the Olympic Games are a “bonus”, with “everything to gain and nothing to lose”
The question of the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes
These Russian wrestlers whose neutrality is contested
Football and the Paralympic Games, two ticketing challenges
The Organizing Committee draws from its reserve to keep the Games budget in balance
- The Olympic Torch Relay
Some municipalities are irritated by the requirements and costs linked to hosting the torch relay
The government steps on the accelerator to close the accessibility gap
- Seine-Saint-Denis and the Games
In La Courneuve, we “would like to see the Games arrive with the eyes of a child”
- Paris at Games time
Hoteliers are raising their prices, controls will intensify
Cultural places worried and in need of information seven months before the Olympic Games
Film shootings will be banned in the capital for the first time for three months
Parisian barge owners looking forward to summer 2024 and the Games
- The Games are not just Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis
197 Club 2024 fan zone projects, but the initiative is being shunned by some big cities
Nîmes and its archery club, essential on the route to the Games
Besançon displays its “total commitment” to the Games
In Marseille, hotel reservations are not taking off for the Games
“Metropolitan Olympics” in Lyon to imprint a certain idea of sport
- Environmental issues
The difficult challenge of the “green” Olympic Games
- The societal issues that the Games highlight
At the time of sport, a major national cause, the worrying situation of swimming pools in France
School sport is still looking for the right formula
- Ongoing legal investigations
Winter Games 2030 and 2034: a Paris 2024 framework targeted by a complaint