Installing an anti-terror perimeter is not just for moving. Five days before the start of the Olympic Games and since last Thursday Traffic restrictions are in force in certain well-defined areas of the capital. Ahead of the opening ceremony of the Games next Friday, these measures apply particularly to the city center and the banks of the Seine, with spaces for circulation divided into two parts: gray zones and red zones.
Games that promised to be “fantastic” for Thierry Marks, president of the Union of Trades and Industries of the Hotel (Umih), but condemned him, On the set of BFMTV This Sunday, the results of these numerous security measures, for traders, hoteliers and restaurateurs.
Tony Estanguet, president of the organizing committee, quickly brushed aside those concerns, expressed in a press release from professional organizations in which Parisian traders and restaurateurs complained of an “unprecedented drop in activity and attendance”: “We will report when the Olympics are over,” he said. added that the sale of tickets for the Games has been successfully completed and 8.8 million tickets have already been sold.
Access to the gray zones is reserved for people with a Games Pass with a QR Code, while the red zones allow pedestrians and cyclists without proof. Only motorized vehicles are prohibited unless they have a special permit. From July 26, the start of the Games, many other areas will be subject to increased security measures… which doesn’t always make businesses in those areas happy.
“Areas with approximately 60% turnover loss”
“Our traders, restaurateurs, hoteliers are affected by the Games, by this congestion of the hypercenter (Paris). We see that the operation put into their circulation is very effective, we observe many cancellations. There are areas where we have a turnover loss of almost 60%, while other areas reach a 30% loss,” denounces Thierry Marx on BFMTV. “There are situations that are grotesque,” he continues. Some routes were closed last night, resulting in a cascade of restaurant disruptions and cancellations. »
After a stormy political climate, with the recent legislative elections, Thierry Marx assures that “we have been sounding the alarm for several months about the oxidation of these circulations”. Umih is helping “restaurateurs with compensation documents” if they think the hotel industry is doing everything it needs to do to prepare for the Games. The impact on businesses has “disturbing and worrying implications for the future”: “Our businesses are being affected. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a 40% loss. »
“We’re ready for this last part,” Tony Estanguet said during a press conference this Sunday. For Thierry Marks, optimism is already looking ahead: “The interesting period is after the game, the bookings will come towards the end of September. »