Paris authorities under attack for 'unethical' policies ahead of 2024 Olympic Games

Parisians are racing the trending “Do not go/come to Paris” slogan across social media platforms to shed light on “unethical measures undertaken by local authorities” as they prepare the city for the summer Olympic Games 2024.

Paris authorities have reportedly accelerated the evacuation of squatters and makeshift slums utilized by migrants as the city prepares to host the prestigious event, raising serious concerns among human rights activists and social media users as well, as reported by several media outlets

Several NGOs perceived this act as a social cleansing of society’s most marginalized from the streets of Paris and its suburbs before the Games.

70 organizations wrote to Paris authorities, the Olympic organizing committee, and Olympic sponsors warning against the evacuation of homeless people as all the eyes will be on the city.

“The authorities will want to hide the homeless people, migrants, beggars, and drug users who live in the capital during the period. The streets must be clean, and the government is already preparing the ground,” said Paul Alauzy to InfoMigrants.

The French government has been working on transferring Paris’ homeless to other parts of the country. Each week, the government takes between 50 to 150 individuals to one of 10 locations across France, according to CNN.

France also decided to evacuate students from their accommodations to make room for the Olympic Games staff, including security forces, healthcare workers, paramedics, bus drivers, and private security agents, as reported by AFP.

More than 3,000 students were told to vacate their accommodation, as reported Inside the Games last May. They received an email from the regional student welfare organization CROUS requesting them to move out by the beginning of July next year.

Last October, workers halted construction of an Olympic arena in northern Paris to assert their demands for contracts and French residency permits, raising the “No papers, no Olympic Games” slogan, according to Reuters.

All these concerns have resurfaced as Miranda Banana took it to TikTok to encourage people to refrain from visiting Paris and to cancel their flights to the city, similar to what she, her family, and friends plan to do during the Games.

She said that her country’s government “doesn’t want tourists to see homeless people who don’t have access to free housing.”

Banana also brought to the table the issue of students who are being told to vacate their accommodation. In addition, she shed light on the miserable situation faced by the undocumented workers in terms of payment, and access to healthcare, among other issues.

She complained about the transport infrastructure in Paris, which is already under pressure, as it might be unprepared to receive millions of people.

The TikToker described the Parisian transport system as “chaotic” and one of the worst systems she ever encountered.

Paris metro tickets are also expected to double during the Games and residents with passes would be exempt from the temporary increase, while visitors would be charged a reasonable price, as announced by the French capital region’s president according to Reuters.

Another Tiktoker named Leo (your internet sister), also joined the call, and said, “Hosting the Olympic Games is great, and having a lot of tourists in Paris is something that I personally enjoy. But the way the French Government and Paris/ Île-de-France are dealing with the organization has been very flawed.”