‘Paris Will Be Ruined by the Olympics!’ — City Blighted by Ugly 5G Antennas, Giant Screens, 6ft Street Barriers, 1,137 Porta-Potties and Nearly 200 Amplifiers
July 26 2024, Published 2:10 p.m. ET
Zut alors!
Parisians are saying ‘non merci’ to the five-ring Olympic circus as the Summer Games get underway.
With the opening ceremony taking place in the center of the City of Light, the area has been declared a “grey zone,” open only to those who live in the area, and stores and cafés in the zone are being forced to close down for the week, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Among the endless issues that have put a bee in people’s berets, is being forced to walk for miles behind 44,000 6-foot barriers that have been erected around the city.
“It looks like a prison,” one child told the London Evening Standard, while one of the local mayors in the 6th arrondissement said he wasn’t even told the barriers were being put up.
Other indignities locals have had to deal with, the outlet revealed, include the rerouting of traffic, the closure of 11 metro stations, having to wait for at least 30 minutes for a bus, 5G antennas at every corner, 65 giant screens, 1,137 portable toilets and 169 sound amplifiers.
And forget about people in wheelchairs or those pushing babies and toddlers in strollers. They’re finding it nearly impossible to navigate what’s left of the sidewalks.
A local teacher complained: “It is the first time the Olympic Games are organized in the heart of a city, and it may be the last! Honestly, if this doesn't wreck Paris, I'd be surprised.”
Standard reporter Agnès Poirier declared: “Except for sport addicts who managed to get tickets at an affordable price (which must be an Olympic discipline in itself), I don't know one Parisian who will stay for the Games."
"They want to see the beautiful competitions on television...They want to enjoy the Games without the daily logistical hassle and the back kitchen horrors.”
Speaking of kitchens, the British Olympic team has decided to boycott the food in the Olympic village, and instead fly in their own chefs.
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Team GB made the decision after being promised Michelin-starred catering. They later discovered not only were there not enough high-protein dishes, but some of the meat they were served was undercooked.
The British Olympic Association’s Chief Executive, Andy Anson told the Times: “There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes.”
Even though around 40,000 meals are prepared every day in the athlete’s village, one British Olympian who spoke on condition of anonymity shared with the outlet, that even at the Village’s restaurant, which has 3,000 seats: “The food is a challenge at the moment. Sometimes at peak times, it's challenging to even get a piece of chicken.”
The company tasked with catering for the athletes in the Olympic Village – Sodexo Live – said it had increased its order of various proteins following complaints.