Current:Home > InvestParis angers critics with plans to restrict Olympic Games traffic but says residents shouldn’t flee-LoTradeCoin
Paris angers critics with plans to restrict Olympic Games traffic but says residents shouldn’t flee
lotradecoin registration View Date:2024-12-25 12:43:17
PARIS (AP) — Stay, enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime show.
That was the message from organizers of the Paris Olympics on Wednesday as they sought to reassure the French capital’s residents that security measures and traffic restrictions won’t make their lives nightmarish during the July 26-Aug. 11 event and the Paralympic Games that follow.
But critics, including some in the Senate, were displeased by plans to require motorists to apply online for a QR code to access traffic-restricted zones of Paris during the Games. Senators complained that lawmakers had not been consulted. Nathalie Goulet, a senator from Normandy, likened the proposal to ID papers that France’s Nazi occupiers imposed in World War II.
The Senate announced that Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez would appear before senators on Thursday and be asked to explain the security measures around the event.
Nuñez, speaking to journalists, defended the planned QR code as legal and justified. He insisted that traffic restrictions would be kept to the necessary minimum and suggested that he’d been expecting criticism.
“One can always be the little ugly duckling who sulks in the corner. We know we’ll have lots of those,” the police chief said.
The traffic restrictions and other security measures detailed Wednesday by Nuñez in a newspaper interview and a subsequent news conference will be concentrated on Olympic competition routes and venues, some of them installed in the heart of Paris, and won’t be generalized across the capital.
Pedestrians and cyclists won’t need the QR code to get around, but motor vehicles and motorbikes will need it to get past some police checkpoints. Some Metro stations will be closed. But Nuñez said the general aim is to create as little economic impact as possible and for shops, restaurants and museums to remain accessible.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the security shouldn’t cause Parisians to flee and described the city’s first Olympic Games in a century as a gift for its residents.
“Should people leave Paris? Well no,” she said.
“At a time when the whole world is a bit depressed, with wars and conflicts, we will be the place that hosts the first big fraternal event, thanks to sport, after the COVID (pandemic),” she said.
“We are giving ourselves a collective present.”
___
AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
veryGood! (39)
Related
- American who says he crossed into Syria on foot is freed after 7 months in detention
- 5 Things podcast: Israel expands ground operation into Gaza, Matthew Perry found dead
- A 5.4 magnitude earthquake has shaken Jamaica with no immediate reports of casualties or damage
- Paris Hilton, North West, Ice Spice, more stars transform for Halloween: See the costumes
- Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews
- Will Ariana Madix's Boyfriend Daniel Wai Appear on Vanderpump Rules? She Says...
- Ryan Blaney wins, William Byron grabs last NASCAR Championship race berth at Martinsville
- Chrishell Stause’s Feud With Jason Oppenheim’s Ex Marie-Lou Nurk Will Make Your Jaw Drop
- American who says he crossed into Syria on foot is freed after 7 months in detention
- Matthew Perry's Former Costar Ione Skye Shares Their Final Text Exchange Days Before His Death
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- China fetes American veterans of World War II known as ‘Flying Tigers’ in a bid to improve ties
- Chris Paul does not start for first time in his long NBA career as Warriors top Rockets
- EU chief says investment plan for Western Balkan candidate members will require reforms
- Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Dec. 10 drawing: $619 million lottery jackpot
- Barack Obama on restoring the memory of American hero Bayard Rustin
- Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki writes about her years in government in ‘Say More’
- Biden plans to step up government oversight of AI with new 'pressure tests'
Recommendation
-
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
-
Two bodies found aboard migrant boat intercepted off Canary Island of Tenerife
-
In 'The Holdovers,' three broken people get schooled
-
Iran arrests rights lawyer after she attended funeral for girl injured in mysterious Metro incident
-
A Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke, Cher
-
Is pasta healthy? It can be! How to decide between chickpea, whole grain, more noodles.
-
Biden plans to step up government oversight of AI with new 'pressure tests'
-
Vigil for Maine mass shooting victims draws more than 1,000 in Lewiston