Annette Masson, president of the association Tourisme et Handicaps, is concerned about the attendance of metros and suburban trains where “assistance is lacking”. PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP
It resembles a (long) sprint. With many obstacles to overcome. By the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, on July 26, 2024, the authorities ensure that everything will be done to properly accommodate the approximately 350,000 people with disabilities who will come to attend the event, out of the expected total of 15 million visitors.
“We won’t be perfect” by the summer of 2024 on the issue of accessibility of transportation, accommodations, and businesses “for people with reduced mobility”, warned President Emmanuel Macron in mid-March. It must be said that France has a long way to go. In April, it was criticized by the Council of Europe for not yet guaranteeing equal rights for people with disabilities.
Nevertheless, one week before the second edition of the Paralympic Day, which took place on Sunday, October 8, and about three hundred days before the start of the Games, the government decided to accelerate. The launch of a 1.5 billion euro fund to improve accessibility, announced on July 19 at an Olympic and Paralympic council, was confirmed. Above all, there is a desire to create an impulse primarily in the cities that will host the Olympic and Paralympic competitions.
In the first quarter of 2024, 430 million euros will be released for work in transportation, 300 million for public buildings and universities, and 500 million for territorial communities (with Paris being excluded). Starting from November 2, a support center will be opened to help businesses, bars, cafes, restaurants, and hotels, which will share 300 million euros in funding for renovation and remodeling work. Aid (60 million euros) will also be provided for digital accessibility and telecommunications.
While the Ministry of Tourism says it “hopes to be a victim of our success” with these measures, they are often seen as too late in terms of the challenges by the opposition. “It’s not a sure thing,” admits Lamia El Aaraje, deputy at the socialist city hall of Paris, in charge of universal accessibility and people with disabilities.
The Parisian official remembers the lack of interest generated by the call for projects (with a budget of 100,000 euros) launched by the city in the fall of 2022 among the merchants of three neighborhoods known for increased accessibility: “Only four people out of thousands responded.”
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