It’s no secret. Moreover, the sports deputy of the City of Paris proclaims it loud and clear: “The fallout from the Paris 2024 Olympics should above all benefit Seine-Saint-Denis, where all the new constructions are concentrated. It is a choice wanted by the organizers and the contracting authorities, because this department is both the youngest and the poorest in France”, explains Pierre Rabadan – a former rugby player. Also the event should not really change the face of Paris where, for reasons of sobriety, we preferred to bet on the existing, by favoring the renovation of old equipment rather than building new infrastructures.
With one exception: the Porte de La Chapelle, where an all-concrete giant is about to emerge from the ground. This is the Adidas Arena, the only competition site built for the Games in intramural Paris. It should transform the most disadvantaged district of the city, which combines all the superlatives: the most congested, the most polluted, the poorest too, with a population with few qualifications and an unemployment rate of 16%. It is finally one of the most chaotic, with its crack traffickers and its migrant camps which swarmed until recently under the viaduct of the A1 motorway. Originally, this project should have seen the light of day near the Palais Omnisports de Bercy, but the idea was abandoned for lack of available plots. “At La Chapelle, it finally makes more sense!” welcomes Pierre Rabadan.
Between the highway and the boulevards of the Marshals, the cranes are in action and a concrete block of 3 square kilometers begins to take shape. Despite a three-month delay, this Arena, a 120 million euro project, should finally be delivered in March 2024. On paper, it has everything to please: composed of a room with 8,000 seats, it will host the badminton and gymnastics events. After the Games, the Paris Basket club will set up shop there, while two gymnasiums, currently under construction, will be made available to schools and associations.
A sensory room for people with autism
Culture will not be outdone: this same hall should subsequently offer around a hundred concerts a year. A sort of “mini-Bercy” inaugurated on May 3, 2024, by rapper Zola. “The Adidas Arena brings together a number of ambitions that are dear to us, whether it’s accessibility or the environment. For example, it will be equipped with a sensory room for people with autism, explains Armelle Richardot, director of programs at Solideo [NDLR : l’établissement public chargé des infrastructures olympiques et paralympiques]. In terms of ecology, it is built with low-carbon concrete; equipped with a wooden frame that will reduce the volumes of heated air; surmounted by a green roof with photovoltaic panels while the seats will be made from recycled waste…
Outside, a forecourt, planted with trees, winding through alleys and cycle paths, should change the configuration of a district whose main artery, located near a motorway interchange, is permanently congested. But the announcement of the limitation to a single lane of traffic does not enthuse all residents: “The entry of motorists into Paris has already been limited to the level of the Porte de La Chapelle, creating a shambles in the adjacent streets, congested, noisy and polluted. The paradise of cycling is also hell for traders who have gone out of business. We should never have taken this decision without a prior impact study, “said Loïc Guézo, president of the Demain La Chapelle association. The municipality hopes to make this district more pleasant and open it up by strengthening ties with Saint-Denis. Even, beyond, with the new Condorcet campus, supposed to welcome, from the start of the 2025 academic year, nearly 3,500 students and researchers from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
A stone’s throw from the Arena, the municipality will take charge of five other Olympic structures made up of existing equipment which, after renovation, will serve as training sites for the Olympic Games. Among them, in a row along the Maréchaux: the sports complexes of the Poissonniers, Bertrand-Dauvin and Max-Rousié. The city also pampers its old vestiges, such as the Georges-Vallerey equipment, Porte des Lilas, the first Olympic swimming pool built for the 1924 Olympics, where the American Johnny Weissmuller – the future Tarzan – distinguished himself. “Its retractable roof immediately appealed to us, but it no longer worked, specifies Pierre Rabadan. It will therefore be renovated, while the pool, reception and changing rooms will be modernized.” The improvements will continue after the Olympic Games, with the creation of a kennel available to guide dogs for the visually impaired, the renovation of air conditioning – to improve air quality – and lighting – to reduce energy consumption. A restructuring at 12.5 million euros, financed by the City of Paris and Solideo.
Opposite, Porte de Saint-Cloud, the Pierre-de-Coubertin stadium, with its typical 1930s architecture, will serve as a training site for the Paralympic Games, hosting disciplines such as rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and goalball (Paralympic discipline for the visually impaired with a sound ball). Next door, the Suzanne-Lenglen court, within the grounds of Roland-Garros, will be covered with a metal structure to accommodate tennis, of course, but also boxing. And this, day or night, in the sun or in the rain.
An Olympic lane on the ring road
The Grand Palais, whose nave is being renovated, will also be requisitioned for fencing and taekwondo. “We are going to redevelop its surroundings by expanding the gardens and creating new paths to improve accessibility and strengthen security,” explains the deputy. After the pedestrianization works, Avenue Eisenhower linking the Champs-Elysées gardens to the Grand Palais should regain a more rural look.
Much less consensual, an “Olympic lane” will be dedicated to athletes, officials and relief on the ring road. And could, after the Olympics, be definitely reserved for carpooling, taxis and buses. “Like in San Francisco!” says Pierre Rabadan, who hopes to reduce pollution, knowing that 80% of vehicles are only occupied by their driver. “Each year, 40,000 deaths are attributable to fine particles in France, including 8,000 in Ile-de-France, he justifies. Not enough to convince all elected officials. Even less the mayor (LR) of Aulnay-sous-Bois, Bruno Beschizza, who protests against this” privatization “which” would make the daily life of 1.2 million motorists borrowing the Urban Boulevard each day. It is a purely ideological project which aims to exclude the working and middle classes from Paris”.
Paris finally took advantage of the Olympics to relaunch the depollution of the waters of the Seine. “We were able to accelerate our investments and gain fifteen years!” Rabadan says with satisfaction. Three bathing sites have been identified, which should be accessible in 2025. A promise made by Jacques Chirac that the former mayor never honored.