The Olympic Games Made Paris a Ghost Town
“My office is completely empty. Maybe five people have been to work in the last week.” In some ways, despite the Olympics, Paris is like a ghost town this week, surprisingly.
Joanna Twarowska, a quality manager for a consumer goods company in Paris, says her company approved a month of “work from home” for any employees who wanted to get away from the city while the Olympic Games were in play, and the weeks before and after.
This sentiment was shared by residents of Paris. With many locals fleeing while the city was getting prepared to host the worldwide sporting event, the streets were as empty as residents had ever seen them.
Restaurants are cutting back servers’ hours, baristas spend more time on their phone than making drinks, and hostesses are using this time to practice their English by hanging around those they’ve seated a bit longer than usual.
“The subway. That’s the first thing I noticed,” Twarowska recounted. “When I go to work in the morning, the subways are practically empty.”
It’s important to mention that the subway price was doubled in anticipation of the swarm of global tourists. From July 20th to September 8th, 2024, a single ticket (for the Metro, tramway or bus) rose to 4 Euros; it was previously 2.15 Euros. Despite less population, the traffic has increased as one of the lanes on major roundabouts is closed for “Official Olympic travel.” As tempting as it may be for local drivers to veer into that lane that stays completely open most of the time, this action results in a 160 Euros fine.
Emilian, born and raised in Paris, explained that the majority of his friends used this time to go on holiday. He tried to convince them to stay to “experience the athletic greatness from all around coming to town,” but they had no interest.
“The ticket prices were so expensive, they could not afford to go to the events even if they were just down the street”
Of those who fled, many looked to rent out their apartment in hopes of making a bit of money while they went elsewhere, but they were widely left disappointed.
Not only are apartments in the city still available on AirBnB, even hotels remain underbooked.
For those who stayed, the increased subway prices and lane closures were not all the inconveniences they faced.
Roads were blocked off and guarded by police without much notice or clarity for the locals. Specifically, certain parts of Paris were completely unavailable without a Pass Jeux (Game Pass).
“From 18 to 26 July, to access the grey perimeter, anyone over the age of 13 must have a Pass Jeux. The Pass Jeux is a pass in the form of a QR Code, issued by the préfecture de Police. It is free, non-transferable and will be subject to a validity check by the police,” per The Paris Government.
This resulted in a lot of residents having to prove why they should be allowed to go home or go to work if it fell in one of the prohibited zones. Many were unaware that they needed to apply for a required pass. This process would be time consuming, requiring photo ID, proof of residency, proof of employment, and/or tickets or proof of plan to visit a specific location like a restaurant or museums.
If you are in Paris, take this opportunity to go to a restaurant where making a reservation seemed impossible before. Visit the Louvre as same-day tickets are available and there is no wait to take a picture with the Mona Lisa. Checkout DisneyLand Paris with shorter lines than ever before.
