From her offices in Saint-Ouen, now that the construction site is finished, Valérie Pécresse admires the view: “Trees and cycle paths,” she smiles. “When you remember what it was like before, it’s spectacular.” Across the entire Ile-de-France region, which she has chaired since 2015, huge projects have been accelerated to meet the needs in transport, quality sports facilities and housing required by the organisation of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. So much infrastructure that will remain as a legacy of this event.
L’Express: The Ile-de-France region was very involved in the organization of these Paris 2024 Olympic Games. What financial effort was made?
Valerie Pecresse: The Ile-de-France region is already the big winner of the Olympic Games, and the legacy for its residents will be real. We have invested 500 million euros, half of which is financed by the Region and the other half by visitors, via special transport fares. This will cover part of the additional costs linked to the 15% increase in transport services during the Games, the 150 free bus shuttles, the hundreds of minibuses made available for disabled people, the creation of ad hoc signage, and the 50,000 free transport cards allocated to law enforcement officers from the rest of France. We needed new revenue because the Cojo [NDLR : Comité d’organisation des Jeux olympiques] was unable to finance free transport due to lack of budget. This earned me a lot of criticism, but I did not want to make the people of the Paris region pay an “Olympic debt” next year. Tickets to attend the events are sometimes very expensive, as is accommodation. It was normal not to privatize profits and socialize losses.
In terms of transport, what did the Olympic Games achieve?
To tell the truth, no transport infrastructure opened this year was decided specifically for the Olympics. But they gave us a deadline that we must not exceed. This is how line 14 will constitute the new north/south backbone for travelers in the Ile-de-France region: since June 24, it has connected Saint-Denis Pleyel to Orly airport. By 2025, it will transport 1 million travelers per day.
The RER E will be the new strong east/west axis of the region. By now going as far as La Défense, it will also relieve congestion on the RER A and B by around 10%. These are real changes in the lives of the people of the Paris region, but also of the inhabitants of peripheral towns such as Dreux or Montargis, who will benefit from these new airport services. We should also mention the extension of line 11, on schedule, as well as that of the 3b tramway to Porte Dauphine. We save a lot of time! La Défense is now only forty minutes from Chelles instead of 55 minutes, and 10 minutes from Gare du Nord. The business district is now better connected to the Thalys and the Eurostar. This could encourage a recovery in the office market in the sector, which is currently struggling.
With the arrival of the Paralympic Games, we have also accelerated the accessibility of stations: 95% of train and RER traffic, 240 stations in total, are now adapted for people with disabilities. The result of a total investment of 2 billion euros over ten years. Without the Games, these projects would not have been completed before 2026, given the State’s budgetary difficulties. For cyclists, we have also created an interconnected network of suburban paths of 415 kilometers in total.
And in terms of sports equipment and sports infrastructure?
Ile-de-France is the youngest metropolitan region after Hauts-de-France. And yet, it is also the most sedentary, given its tertiary activities: a third of Ile-de-France residents spend more than 7 hours a day sitting. We had some catching up to do in this area and since I became president of the region eight years ago, we have started renovating 2,600 sports facilities, two thirds of which are in the outer suburbs.
Thanks to the Games, a hundred swimming pools have been built, including 33 in Seine-Saint-Denis where one in two sixth-grade students cannot swim. In Seine-et-Marne, the Vaires-sur-Marne aquatic center will be magnificent. In Bobigny, the Prisme will become a large disabled sports center. We have also financed the renovation of the CREPS Ile-de-France to the tune of 42 million euros. [NDLR : Centre de ressources d’expertise et de performance sportive] in Châtenay-Malabry, a very high level infrastructure.
What will the housing legacy be?
Between the Olympic Village and the Media Village, 4,000 homes have been built in seven years, whereas with the normal procedure it would have taken fifteen. My dream would be for this Olympic simplification to be extended! We have worked on halving the CO2 emissions of new constructions, by using bio-sourced, recycled materials and carbon concrete. The construction sites have been exemplary, a real field of innovation. This has been a trigger for good practices for the construction sector.
We have also carried out considerable urban developments, with the removal of urban breaks such as the burial of 15 kilometres of high-voltage lines in Saint-Denis. Furthermore, we have finally given new life to the Elancourt hill, in reality a hill of waste. These are 20 hectares renatured, rehabilitated on the banks of the Seine.
What impact do you expect on activity in Ile-de-France?
In terms of economic attractiveness, we are already seeing results with the sustainable establishment of around a hundred companies, two thirds of which are outside Paris. During these Games, we will also be a showcase for innovation – and this is an idea that I borrowed from the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics – in terms of hydrogen technology: 1,000 hydrogen taxis will be deployed, with charging stations set up everywhere. We will also have a spectacular innovation to present, with the electric flying taxi with vertical take-off. The Volocopter could replace helicopters, such as those used for medical transport.
Looking at what has been done in previous Olympic editions, what other ideas have you retained? What pitfalls, on the contrary, have you tried to avoid?
I was impressed by London’s idea of redeveloping the banks of the Thames. But what was disappointing at the 2012 Olympics, and even more so at Rio in 2016, was the lack of public transport. In Paris, we will have the first Games that are 100% accessible by public transport, decarbonised. Tokyo could have claimed this title, but the competition took place without spectators because of the Covid pandemic. We will be the first to do so, it is a great source of pride.
Are there any projects that you were unable to complete?
My only regret is not having seen the CDG Express project come to fruition before the Olympics, blocked for a year and a half in court because of appeals. This line would nevertheless improve traffic on the RER B, which is today too often disrupted by the many passengers with luggage, who slow down traffic. A large part of the delays also comes from the 400 or so parcels abandoned each year. The CDG Express should not see the light of day before 2027.
How do you see the future?
The Olympic Games were clearly an accelerator in terms of urban transport, sports infrastructure and housing. These projects would have been completed, but probably not as quickly and not as well. I know that it was hard to live with all this work, I also lived and took the measure of these daily inconveniences in transport. But in September, the people of the Paris region will see that we have improved their daily lives, for many of them. All these projects were carried out at incredible speed. There are still plenty of projects in the pipeline, such as line 15, between Pont de Sèvres and Saint-Denis Pleyel, or lines 16 and 17, which will connect Saint-Denis Pleyel to the city of Le Bourget. We must not lose the pace.
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