Paris’ Priorities: Parisian Protestors against the Olympics
Author: Gwyneth Sim, Research Executive
Editor: Tavisha Jain, Research Director
June 23 marked the day that mayor Anne Hidalgo declared she would swim in River Seine to prove that the water was clean enough for the Olympic athletes set to come to Paris. The Seine is expected to host triathlon and open water swimming events in the upcoming Paris summer Olympics 2024, beginning as soon as July 26. However, authorities are currently facing a serious infrastructural problem, where leakages in Paris’ dated wastewater network means untreated sewage often finds its way directly into the river. Despite the hefty €1.4 billion (S$2 billion) spent over a decade trying to resolve the Seine’s pollution problem, testing on June 21 showed water quality still failing to meet the Olympics permitted standard by two-fold.
Protestors are furious over the authorities’ vast spending of budget that is still inefficient in resolving the pollution problem. Extreme movements, such as online discussion to mass-defecate in the River Seine on the same day the mayor intended to swim in it, reveal Parisian’s unhappiness to authorities’ misalignment in priorities. Parisians are upset over the negative externalities of hosting the Olympics- straining the transportation system, security risks, and distraction of the government from pressing social issues in the city.
Highlighted is an example of the public holding authorities accountable to the economic choices they make– intersecting economic concepts such as opportunity cost and allocation of limited resources. Resources allocated to pollution control are diverted from other pressing social issues, such as public housing, healthcare, or education. The government faces a trade-off between continuing investment in pollution control to meet Olympic standards and reallocating funds to social services, each with significant opportunity costs. These decisions reflect a balancing act of priorities, where the opportunity costs emphasise the need for strategic, long-term economic planning to address both environmental and social challenges effectively.
Similar concerns over the excuberant costs associated with the Olympics had been voiced out in past Olympics, an infamous example being the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, China maintained the stance that the new opportunities for economic and infrastructural growth has made hosting the Olympics worthwhile despite its explicit and implicit costs.
Further Reading
Phillips, G. (2024, June 13). Parisians are planning to poop in the Seine River ahead of the Olympics in protest of “Wasteful spending.” Time Out Worldwide. https://www.timeout.com/news/why-are-parisians-planning-to-poop-in-the-seine-061324
References
Hjelmgaard, K. (2024, June 28). Pooping in Olympic river? Not even the 2024 Paris games can bring divided France together. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2024/06/28/pooping-in-the-olympic-river-paris-games-spark-talk-of-dirty-protest/74229634007/
The Straits Times. (2024, June 24). Seine suspense as Paris counts down to Olympics. https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/seine-suspense-as-paris-counts-down-to-olympics
Wiseman, C. (2024, June 23). Mass defecation protest rocks Paris Olympics. news.com.au. https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/ furious-parisians-threaten-to-defecate-in-river-seine-in-olympics-protest/news-story/fd163bdb861ba91d6173b05c091612f2