“On competition days, it will be complicated to get around Paris.” This warning was signed by the Minister Delegate responsible for Transport himself, in mid-November. Clément Beaune went so far as to mention traffic plans “hardcore” on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They were largely revealed on Wednesday November 29: the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nunez, announced the establishment of several security perimeters where the circulation of motorized vehicles will be restricted, or even prohibited.
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, is worried about travel by metro and RER. On the set of the show “Quotidien”, on November 22, she warned that “there are places where transport will not be ready”. Nothing very reassuring while more than ix million visitors are expected next summer in the capital. To transport them to the test sites, the The organizing committee, however, is banking on public transport. Here is a first look at the trafic expected.
In the metro: “between 1 and 1.5 million additional travelers” expected on certain days
Getting on a subway train during the Olympics could be an ordeal in itself. During a normal summer period, the RATP welcomes between 8 and 9 million people daily, depending on figures communicated by the company. During the Games, she believes “ between 1 and 1.5 million” the number of additional travelers “some days”. To cope with this, the number of trains will be increased by 15% during the week and 30% on weekends compared to the usual offer for the month of August.
But the company wants to be reassuring: oYes, the crowds will be higher than that of a classic month of August, but lower than that of a normal day in November, for example, where we observe peaks of 12 million travelers per day, like the Parisians may know about it now.
The attendance will vary mainly from one line to another. SSurprisingly, the busiest will be those leading to the competition sites and places of festivities, i.e. lines 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13. The RATP is also working on suitable flow management systems, “particularly in the areas of Paris West”, where several competition venues are located, including Roland-Garros and the Parc des Princes.
“We cannot have a metro station that leaves inside a protection perimeter, with people who have not been searched”warns the prefect of police Laurent Nunez, who detailed Wednesday in The Parisian the Games security system. Special perimeters have been established around “all the Olympic and Paralympic competition sites, but also the athletes’ village (in Seine-Saint-Denis), the media center, the France club and other celebration sites, road races (cycling, marathon) and of the opening ceremony.”
In the corridors of the unions, “we don’t really see how this could go well”, fears François-Xavier Arouls, co-secretary of the Solidaires RATP union. “When we look at what the RATP is planning for the Olympics, we can say that it’s a great promise. But that’s just a promise.”underlines this driver of line 3, worried at the sight “of number of traffic incidents that there are on a daily basis at the moment.” “We have the right to doubt the miracle of the Games”he insists to franceinfo. “We already don’t have the necessary staff, not enough trains, not enough people to do the repairs...“
In the RER: attendance flows assessed “station by station”
On the RER network, the anticipation is the same: “Unlike usual, where we are on massive flows in the morning and evening, here, we will be in continuous mode throughout the day”explained Alain Ribat, the general director of the Transilien network within SNCF, during a conference organized in mid-October by the magazine City, Rail and Transport.
For the knowledge, “we evaluated the attendance flows station by station, day by day, station by station, minute by minute. We even looked at traffic direction by traffic direction”, continues Alain Ribat. Some “4,500 additional trains” will be put in place compared to the usual summer offer, assures the manager.
On the RER C, the company promises a train every five minutes, all day long. On RER lines B and D, which notably serve the Stade de France, “We will increase services three hours before each event, to allow visitors to arrive on the site, and between an hour and an hour and a half after the end of the event.”
From July 8 and until the end of September, all work will be frozen on the RER network. Not enough for the promise to be kept, say the unions: “We are already short of drivers, and we are limited in terms of trains. Without additional equipment, how can we run more trains?”questions Jérémy Dantas, elected SUD-Rail and secretary of the company’s CSE. “We are not against the Olympics, we are aware that it is a great opportunity for France”would like to clarify this RER D driver. But the average agent didn’t ask anything. We are asked to sweeten our summer holidays. Sorry, but the personal lives of agents must come before the Games.”
By bus: all lines in Paris will be “diverted”
Due to the installation of Olympic infrastructure in Paris, bus traffic will already be modified “from March-April 2024”, warns the RATP. DDuring the competition, it will be even more “suitable for the event”. It’s simple: in Paris, “all bus lines, except one, will experience diversions”explained the delegated director for the Olympic and Paralympic Games at RATP, Edgar Sée, during the magazine conference City, Rail and Transport. It gave an idea of the magnitude of the task that awaits its teams: “The impact is the equivalent of finishing the Tour de France every day.”
Daily buses will also have to make room for those chartered specifically for the competition, to transport thehe 15,000 athletes and 200,000 accredited people. There will be up to 800 departures per day to and from the Olympic village, franceinfo has learned. That’s a departure approximately every fifty seconds. To go faster, these buses will be able to take advantage of the “Olympic lanes” which will be reserved for them on the Paris ring road, as well as on several major routes in Ile-de-France.
By car: pay attention to the “Olympic routes” and the perimeters around the sites
Motorists, prepare to be patient while driving during the Games. Their organization risks seriously disrupting traffic in Ile-de-France. According to France Bleu Paris, 185 km of roads in the Paris region will be closed to motorists and reserved exclusively for accredited people, public transport and emergency services. And this,u July 1 to September 15, 2024, one week after the end of the Paralympic Games.
The complete list of these protected “Olympic routes” can be found in the decree of May 4, 2022. These include “part of the A1, part of the A13, and two thirds from the north of the ring road, between the Portes de Sèvres and de Bercy, as well as the penetrating route into Paris up to the ‘Arena de Bercy’we can read.
Drivers will also have to deal with the security perimeters established around the sites where the events will take place and the Olympic village, in Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Hauts-de-Seine. The areas in which traffic will be prohibited, or subject to conditions, are detailed on the Paris town hall website. The activation of traffic restrictions will only take place around the times of the events, specifies the prefect of police Laurent Nunez. Either “two and a half hours before” the beginning and “until an hour later”. “Restrictions around Paris Center, for example, could be in effect from 6:30 a.m. to midnighthe adds. But on foot and by bike, these areas will be free to access. The limitations only concern motorized vehicles.”