The Olympic Games?
When France submitted its candidacy, I was reserved.
Indeed, I had in mind a few counter-examples, including the 2004 Athens Games which had largely contributed to ruining the country, while leaving fields of ruins. I was aware that the preparation work would be enormous, that the ecological cost would be significant, that the risk to security was gigantic.
When Paris’s candidacy was accepted, I crossed my fingers. The sequence of events, including the tragedy at the Stade de France, during the final of the 2022 European Football Cup, did not reassure me.
The mistreatment of volunteers, the house arrests sometimes decided blindly, the fate of the marginalized present in Paris, displeased me. I regretted the insufficient number of tickets at a reasonable price, for those who did not have access to a particular circuit, and especially for the most important moments, the exclusion of working-class backgrounds.
That said, I found the vociferations of the leaders of the extreme right to be out of place.
The result?
I note an undeniable overall success, despite a few drawbacks, such as the initial difficulties in supplying the Olympic village, and a major hiccup over the quality of the water in the Seine.
The gamble, not an easy one, of putting the games in the city was a success. Unnecessary investments were limited as much as possible and the choice to spread the events across the whole of France, including overseas, paid off.
Logistics, transport and security were there. Hospitals, police services and the justice system were not overwhelmed.
The atmosphere was fantastic. The French, known for being unwelcoming, received their foreign guests with a smile. The foreign press, almost unanimously, celebrated Paris en fête.
The controversies over the opening ceremony, over the Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif, seemed out of place to me. They do not erase the real effort of inclusiveness made.
I perceive that this success is the fruit of an intense mobilization work of several tens of thousands of people who gave their all.
My last image of these Olympic Games will be the crowd of mixed delegations, singing, dancing, happy, in the middle of the Stade de France, during the closing ceremony.
Of course this has an artificial side, the commercial side remained present and the Olympic Games are part of a national and international political context. Sport and, particularly, the Olympic Games are the continuation of war by other means. All this must not be forgotten, but does not erase the rest.
Incidentally, the expected tax and social revenues, i.e. 5.3 billion euros, should finance public spending. The amount of private spending would be equivalent.
In addition to the direct benefits, a large number of investments, transport, Olympic village, sports facilities, are sustainable. The indirect benefits in terms of advertising, image, are indisputable.