the capital’s public transport will be “not ready” for the Olympic Games, says Anne Hidalgo

Questioned in the Quotidien program on Wednesday evening, the mayor of Paris cited “two things for which we are not going to be ready”, namely “transport” and “sheltering people without a fixed address”.

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A man buys tickets in a metro station, in Paris, February 8, 2023. (ERIC BERACASSAT / HANS LUCAS / AFP)

Is the capital able to accommodate nearly 15 million spectators? The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo estimated, Wednesday November 22, that “We’re not going to be ready.” on public transport in the capital at the time of the 2024 Olympic Games, citing an insufficient number and frequency of trains in certain places.

Questioned on TMC’s Quotidien show, the socialist mayor spoke of “two things we’re not going to be ready for.”to know “transportation” And “sheltering homeless people” fixed. “We are still in difficulty, already, in daily transport, and we cannot manage to catch up with the level (…) of punctuality, of comfort for Parisians“, noted Anne Hidalgo.

“Not the number of trains”

Asked to specify what would not be ready for the Olympic Games, which will take place from July 26 to August 11, and Paralympic Games, scheduled from August 28 to September 8, the mayor mentioned the future RER E Porte Maillot station. “In fact, there are places where transport will not be ready because there will not be the number of trains and the frequency,” he said.she elaborated.

Asked about the responsibility that fell to the Île-de-France Region, Anne Hidalgo replied: “the government a little too”. “But we do all this together, so I feel involved too,” she added.

The Minister Delegate for Transport was quick to react. Using a famous meme (diverted image) on the social network “trying to create buzz on Quotidien” instead of “participate in the eight strategic committees on transport to prepare” Games.

“We would have appreciated the presence of Anne Hidalgo on the mobility committees of the Olympic and Paralympic Games if she has any proposals to make on transport,” the president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse (LR), also tackled her on X. “Thank you to her for solving the problem of traffic jams in Paris to allow the circulation of buses!”, she joked again.


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