“It is feared that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will widen a democratic deficit” | EUROtoday

HAS six months earlier than the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, debates and questions are multiplying on the holding of this world occasion. Several topics give rise to concern: completion of the installations, unpreparedness and value of transport, penalties on the worth of housing, group and safety of the opening ceremony on the Seine, and, above all, the danger of a drift uncontrollable funding funds.

As all the time, in such instances, European precedents are invoked: Barcelona 1992, Athens 2004, London 2012. Most usually, it’s to have a good time the fabric and concrete success (Barcelona), the optimistic expectation of a conversion Olympic installations (London) or, quite the opposite, deplore their state of abandonment and neglect (Athens).

We usually add to those issues a monetary facet on the ultimate price of the funding. In the case of the Greek capital, it might have aggravated the disaster of confidence within the Greek state funds, which was looming from the start of the 2000s, earlier than bursting in 2008-2010. We neglect in these analyzes the purely political facet, actually way more enlightening, yesterday in Athens as tomorrow in Paris.

It should first be remembered that when it comes to Athenian city planning, we can’t stability the present, desolate state of the Olympic installations, notably the Calatrava stadium, with the novel transformation of housing and dwelling circumstances. transport within the Greek capital.

A obtrusive lack of infrastructure

After the struggle, Athens grew anarchically for half a century, nearly doubling the town’s inhabitants, from 1.8 million inhabitants to three million. She suffers from a obtrusive lack public investments. In central neighborhoods, low homes give option to city buildings, due to well timed will increase within the land use coefficient, with out altering the road format.

In the outskirts, we’re witnessing a proliferation of spontaneous housing, quickly to be legalized via electoral guarantees. There can be a obtrusive lack of infrastructure and public tools, at the beginning transport, with a fleet of rickety and polluting buses. The worldwide airport is positioned in the course of the town, by the ocean, a supply of great noise air pollution in residential and vacationer areas.

In quick, the non-public creation of a really massive metropolis, manufactured from a combination of household solidarity and political patronage in opposition to a historic background of the absence of an actual State because the re-foundation of Greece in 1830. The system is on the finish of its rope. breath.

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