Of course, the Olympics will cause inconvenience for a few weeks to the people of Île-de-France. It’s true, it’s inevitable, we have to admit it. On Monday, Valérie Pécresse, as the President of the Île-de-France Regional Council, sought to “reassure the people of Île-de-France” by presenting new details of her plan for public transportation during the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to her, “we will have as many trips on an Olympic day as on a winter workday.”
The evening briefing
Every evening starting at 6pm Receive the information analyzed and decrypted by the editors of Le Point. Thank you! Your subscription has been successfully registered with the email address: To discover all our other newsletters, go here: My Account By subscribing, you agree to the terms of use and our privacy policy. It is true that the trips will be concentrated on a few lines and areas in Paris and its suburbs. In total, the Paris Tourism and Congress Office expects 15.3 million visitors during the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. But the President of the Region is convinced: “It is a challenge that we are able to meet.”
This is a different tone from recent statements, especially those of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who revealed last November on the TV show Quotidien that the public transportation network in Île-de-France “will not be ready” for this summer. “We are already facing difficulties in daily transportation, and we can’t catch up with the level of punctuality and comfort for Parisians,” she emphasized.
In December of last year, the CEO of RATP, Jean Castex, also declared to Les Echos that “at least eight out of ten lines are no longer able to provide a quality public service.”
15% more offering compared to normal summer
To meet the predicted influx, the metro and RER offerings in Île-de-France will be increased by 15% compared to the usual summer schedule. For lines serving the Olympic sites – RER B, D and H, and lines H, J, N, and P of Transilien – the offering will be increased by 23%. On the heavily trafficked RER A and C lines and line 9, the capacity will be increased by 60 to 70%. According to the Île-de-France region and Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), peak flows of around 60,000 spectators per hour, or 1,000 users per minute, are expected in public transportation and around the sites in Saint-Denis.
The public transportation network will also be supplemented by 10 free shuttle lines to ensure trips from train stations to Olympic sites in the inner and outer suburbs. For example, forty thousand spectators will take shuttles between the Palace of Versailles and nearby train stations, which equates to 10,000 people per hour, or two buses per minute.
“We have thirty years of underinvestment in transportation […]. Without the Olympics, we would never have been able to meet the deadlines,” states Valérie Pécresse. The President of the regional council firmly believes that the renovation works will be completed on time. By July, line 14, the “backbone of the Games,” is expected to be extended to Saint-Denis and Orly Airport, with the goal of transporting one million passengers per day, twice the current number. The RER E lines, metro 11, metro 12, and four tram lines – T1, T3b, T11, and T13 – will be or have already been extended.
“There were two ways to approach it: either find excuses before the obstacle, or have the courage to attempt the feat. And we had that courage, that conviction that we were going to impress the world. So we have to stop with doubts, self-deprecation, and skepticism,” says Valérie Pécresse.
“If you can telework, avoid using public transportation!”
“For all Île-de-France residents saying ‘they’re going to lock us up at home’, ‘they’re going to prevent us from going to work’, that’s not true. Today, the capacity calculation has taken into account the needs of Île-de-France residents working between August 1st and 12th. So, we have exactly taken the demands of Île-de-France residents into account, and then we have added, according to the hours, the events and the audience capacities,” states the President of the regional council, urging Île-de-France residents to anticipate the impacts of the Games on their trips as soon as possible via the Anticipate the Games website.
“Île-de-France residents need to remove their automatic transportation habits. You have to check [routes] on the [Anticipate the Games] website, maybe your transportation habits are not correct anymore because you won’t be aware of an event,” adds Valérie Pécresse. Some routes may be a bit longer, or increase walking distances. “This is really to rely on collective intelligence […]. But don’t be afraid to walk a bit, it’s good for your health,” adds the President of the regional council. The Transport public Paris 2024 application will also allow users to purchase tickets and calculate their travel times.
The region still calls on Île-de-France residents to telework if possible. “If you can telework, avoid using public transportation!”, asserts Valérie Pécresse. Those who want to telework will be able to, and those who don’t want to, can go to work. “I completely reject all the false accusations made against the State and IDFM on this issue. We are doing everything to help Île-de-France residents get through this period and potentially stay in Île-de-France.”
Four euros for a ticket, a “prohibitive” price
During her press conference, Valérie Pécresse also addressed the issue of ticket prices being too high. “I know it has caused a lot of discussion, but I remind you that if the metro ticket is set at 4 euros throughout the Games, it is precisely so that no one buys one,” she explains to surprised journalists. Her strategy is to implement a “prohibitive” price to avoid overcrowding ticket booths and encourage visitors to purchase daily passes (16 euros, 70 euros for 7 days). Users can also purchase tickets via the Liberté + application at lower prices. “Île-de-France residents who are not on Liberté +, it means they want to pay more,” says Valérie Pécresse.
As for the price of the Navigo pass, it is not expected to increase. “I hear Île-de-France residents telling me every day that it is not nice to increase the Navigo pass for the Olympics. […] This is fake news!” exclaims the President of the regional council. And in the face of a looming major strike by RATP and SNCF employees, Valérie Pécresse states, “We will ask RATP and SNCF employees to put in extra effort, we will ask them to stay, not take their vacations, it’s an effort we ask of them. This effort must of course be compensated, hence the need for ‘JO bonuses.’ However, I also rely on the public service spirit of RATP, SNCF, and their employees to not have excessive demands. This is a project of national interest, and it is also important for Île-de-France to showcase its best during these Games.”
