Is France getting into Olympic Games mode or not? A social question of the day, a little provocative, because we’re not really in a whirlwind. And then, there are still a lot of criticisms. But still, there is this big party which took place all this weekend in Marseille, to prepare for the arrival of the Olympic flame on May 8 aboard the Belem, a legendary sailboat. And then, it will circulate throughout the country, this Olympic flame.
franceinfo: Do you feel the enthusiasm building, is it there, is it starting?
Jean Viard: In my village, things remain calm. But the spectacle, even in Olympia, of all these young women with the flame, a bit in the ancient Greek tradition, then this journey of the boat, even I watched it, so at one point, it is also a link between the old Greek culture, which is after all our great democratic root, and then the modern world. I think that little by little, it will build, little by little, it will gain importance. So of course, we’re going to talk about it, but it’s going to be shows that are sometimes magnificent.
And if the inauguration takes place as planned on the Seine, it will be splendid for Paris and for France. There will be between 2 and 3 billion people who will watch, that is to say it is the biggest global event, every four years, there are many more people than for a Football World Cup or something else.
So it’s such a powerful event, that I think we’re going to get into it little by little, and then by the time it happens, everyone is going to want to be perfect. Because at one point, and this is where all the same, nations exist, national unity exists, no one will want, if I may, to “screw the mess” in the image of national identity.
So rather confident in the idea of enthusiasm which will increase. In this regard, will the flame which arrives on May 8, which left Olympia and which will crisscross the country, bring the French closer to the Olympic Games with concrete proximity?
This path of the flame, locally, is always a welcoming event. I saw, in one place, that we had a gentleman who was 100 years old run, we had great champions, champions, underprivileged people run, so at one point, it’s a positive collective story, in a society which has been plagued for a year by problems of immigration, youth violence, problems which are 90% of the construction of politics.
So, this brings us back to a society of fraternity which is fundamentally French society. French society is a peaceful society, a little anxious about its future, we can say that, but which is not this society of civil war that we pretend to have all day long. And so, there, we have a moment which I would say is closer to the daily lives of people, than to violent people.
There is horrible violence, I do not want to deny it, but it is in the extreme minority. And I think that it is this side which will be master. I think that as the flame progresses, little by little we will prepare ourselves. What will be complicated is maintaining enthusiasm for the Paralympic Games. We must not forget this end in France, which is a country which basically does not make much room for people who are different, as they say today.
An interesting survey, Ipsos poll, published a few days ago tells us that 1 in 2 French people say they are confident about the organization of these Games. That’s the question of the moment, rather than wondering if it’s going to be a big event?
That is to say that what we have seen over the past year is much more the crises of French society in the negative speeches, the anxieties, it is not going to work, etc. While for the moment we are more or less within budget, there may be some sticking points. Me, the big talk about traffic jams, excuse me, in summer in Paris, there aren’t many people. So, at one point, we have this kind of negative logorrhea which crushes French society.
I think we will gradually come out of this. Let’s hope everything goes well. Afterwards, obviously, there are safety rules, there are all these elements. Then, from a certain point, the real subject is how many medals France will have.