For Jean Viard “when the Games take place in totalitarian countries, criticism is prohibited, so we have the demonstration of democratic life here”

On this last day of the year, spotlight on 2024 with two important moments for the country: the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the European elections.

All eyes will be on France next summer, with the biggest global event: the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sociologist Jean Viard focuses on this challenge, as well as the next European elections.

franceinfo: For the Olympics, we mainly talk about security, housing and transport, with controversies of all kinds and very little sport. What do you think ?

Jean Viard: These are the two faces of French society. On the one hand, it is the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Games, Paris won and Paris is doing this in the city with, indeed, all the problems that this poses. On the other side, instead of everyone rolling up their sleeves for a great success, we complain, we protest: yes, this will create traffic jams and complicate the lives of Parisians, yes, I find that the explosion of rents in hotels is unimaginable. But, casually, what will remain at the end of next year is that there will have been the Olympic Games in Paris and that it will have been grandiose. And then when the Games take place in totalitarian countries, criticism is prohibited, so we have the demonstration of democratic life here. 4 billion viewers will be looking towards Paris, which is still very positive.

Another highlight in 2024, the Europeans. Will this be an important election for European democracies?

Yes, because Europe feels concerned by the war in Ukraine. The majority of French people support the war effort, the financing provided, the taxes provided, etc. De Gaulle said that nations are built by the sword, we could add that Europe is strengthened by the sword. Already, the great Pandemic had made it possible to react to an unprecedented crisis situation and to constitute a common financial fund. There, Europe continues to be built, to strengthen itself in a complex relationship with NATO. The June elections are therefore part of the rise in power of Europe. We cannot build a unit solely through administrative rules; at some point there has to be an adventure. Well, Europe is an adventure of people trying to protect themselves against an environment that risks being difficult on all sides.

For France, will we be able to draw conclusions with a view to the 2027 presidential election?

Let’s say it’s a full-scale survey. We know that European elections are always more favorable to small camps, they are more ideological elections where we don’t really vote for people because we don’t know the candidates, but for lists with ideas. This rather boosts the opposition parties. We will undoubtedly note the fact that the extreme right has become the leading political force in this country. The question will be to see how the other forces will take this situation into account in their software and this will, in fact, refer to the challenges of 2025 and 2026.