With only eight months left until the Olympic Games, traffic plans are starting to take shape in the capital.
In an interview with Le Parisien, the Prefect of Police of Paris, Laurent Nuñez, announced the main traffic measures in the capital for the 2024 Olympic Games. How far will people be able to travel freely near an event? Where will the controls be located? How will local residents obtain an exemption? These are some of the questions that will be addressed.
Parisian locations will be divided into four categories ranging from the perimeter closest to the event, which will be the most restrictive, to the blue perimeter, which is the widest. Closest to the event, the principle will be a ban on traffic and the exception will be an exemption, according to Laurent Nuñez who assures that the security measures are in place.
Only people with accreditation (athletes, staff, organization, journalists, service providers, etc.) or those with a ticket will be allowed to enter this perimeter. The second perimeter is the protection zone. Everyone entering this zone will be searched. This perimeter will not affect local residents, except during the opening ceremony.
Next is the red circulation perimeter. Motorized two and four-wheelers will not be able to circulate in this area due to the high pedestrian traffic and the risk of car-ramming attacks or disturbances. Finally, the widest perimeter, the blue zone, will only allow those who live, work, or are going to a business or restaurant to enter by car.
“On an urban scale, this leaves large areas open for traffic,” says Laurent Nuñez. In addition, these restrictions “will only be activated during the competition time, 2.5 hours before the start of the events and up to an hour after”, with an exception for the Olympic Village in Saint-Denis.
Inside the red restriction zone, only vehicles of local residents with parking, or those visiting vulnerable individuals will be allowed, as well as emergency, rescue, or breakdown vehicles. Taxis and ride-hailing vehicles may be allowed if they are dropping someone off and have a valid justification, according to the Prefect of Police.
These authorized individuals will need to register beforehand on a digital platform by providing various forms of documentation, including proof of residence. Controls will be carried out, just like in the blue zone, where people entering must be able to justify their movement with a QR code.
Sites with anticipated assembly and disassembly phases, such as Concorde, Les Invalides, Champ de Mars, or Trocadéro, will be closed to traffic shortly before the games. Only metro stations in the red and blue zones will remain open. “We cannot have a station inside a protective perimeter with people who have not been searched,” says Laurent Nuñez.
Regarding the opening ceremony, which will involve 40,000 police officers and gendarmes, Laurent Nuñez admits, “It will be more complicated… the circulation prohibition perimeter will be extensive.” However, he promises that everything will be settled in the spring.
