Parisians in Franc-Moisin, part of the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, have recently had to navigate lots of Olympic-related construction in the area around the State de France soccer field. France hopes the development will help make things better in one of the country's poorest neighbourhoods.
As Ines Roko rode her bicycle around the Paris neighbourhood of Franc-Moisin, she could see workers at the Stade de France preparing the stadium for some of the biggest events of this summer’s Olympic Games. If she looked even harder, she could spot the curved roof of the new Aquatics Centre, where more Olympic competitions will take place.
But the Games may as well be on another planet for Ms. Roko and many other people living here. “I’m not that interested in the Olympics,” she said. “They haven’t been that good for us.”
Franc-Moisin is far removed from the glitter of the Eiffel Tower or the wealth of the Champs-Élysées. A cluster of dull grey apartment blocks surrounds a scruffy park, and the few retail outlets open along the main street include a grocery store, a kebab shop and a halal butcher. The most prominent landmark is a giant mural of a young boy holding a slingshot.
Olympic hype can be hard to find in Seine-Saint-Denis, where many locals feel state money would have been better spent on social housing and much-needed amenities.
This is just one of 40 communities that make up the sprawling suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, which is home to 1.6 million people and some of the worst poverty in France. And while the Games are officially known as the Paris Olympics, most of the action will happen in Seine-Saint-Denis.
The suburb, one of France’s 101 départements, is the site of four Olympic venues – the Stade de France, the Aquatics Centre, the North Paris arena and the climbing centre – as well as the athletes’ village and a housing complex for the media.
Despite hosting most of the events, it’s hard to find much enthusiasm for the Olympics in the banlieue. Many residents wonder if the money spent on the Games could have gone toward social housing or other critical infrastructure. Others are skeptical that any of the promised legacy benefits will trickle down to them. “The government and the higher-ups are focused on the Olympics, but they have forgotten the residents who live right next door,” said Diangou Traore, a community activist in Franc-Moisin.
Men play soccer near the Stade de France, which was built for the 1998 World Cup. It was one of several projects that promised jobs and growth in Seine-Saint-Denis, yet extreme poverty has persisted here.
Seine-Saint-Denis was once France’s industrial heartland, but it fell on hard times when factories started closing in the 1970s. Today the suburb – commonly called “93,″ after its administrative number – is the most deprived département in mainland France. It also has the largest immigrant population and one of the highest unemployment rates.
Parts of the district have become infamous for drug trafficking and upheaval. Last summer, protesters set fire to a town hall and rampaged for a week after a teenaged boy of North African descent was shot by police. A year earlier, soccer fans making their way to the Champions League final at the Stade de France were attacked and robbed by gangs.
French officials hope to use the Olympics to kick-start redevelopment of the département. Along with the four Olympic venues, public money has been spent on a new hospital, bridges, bicycle lanes, a fourth terminal at Roissy Airport and four new subway lines to better connect Seine-Saint-Denis to other parts of metropolitan Paris.
After the Games, the athletes’ village will be turned into housing for 6,000 people and include offices and retail space. The media complex will be converted into a further 1,300 homes, and the nearby “Terrain des Essences,” a local wasteland, will be decontaminated and transformed into a 13-hectare park. “The Olympics will be a good thing for Saint-Denis – it will offer a good image of Saint-Denis and Paris,” said Leila Slimane, the deputy mayor of Pantin, one of the département’s communities.
Gendarmes patrol outside the French legislature, where, as in much of central Paris, officials expect a bigger-than-usual surge in tourism as the Games draw near.
The Paris tourist office has estimated that 15 million visitors will travel to the capital for the Olympics, including some two million from abroad.
Ms. Slimane said the Games have already provided jobs to thousands of people across the region, and the venues are badly needed public assets. “I think that in all sincerity, nothing is perfect, but 80 per cent of everything connected to the Games will benefit people in Paris or Saint-Denis,” she said.
There have been promises and redevelopment programs before. Throughout the 1970s, eighties and nineties, various governments tried to revitalize Seine-Saint-Denis with massive public projects such as the Stade de France, which was built to host soccer’s World Cup in 1998.
Several new businesses have been lured to the suburb, including the French headquarters of Tesla and divisions of BNP Paribas bank and utility giant Veolia Environnement S.A. But studies show that the vast majority of high-paying jobs have gone to people who commute from central Paris.
There are also concerns that the apartments for the athletes and the media will be priced too high for local residents after the Games.
“They found so much money for the pool and other stuff but nothing much for the people living here,” said Mistoura Yessoufou, a social worker in Pantin who says the area is crying out for more public housing.
Fabien Farge, a judo coach and phys ed teacher in Franc-Moisin, doubts that Olympic benefits will last very long here.
Over at the Franc-Moisin Sports Complex, Fabien Farge has been coaching judo and teaching physical education in a local school for 30 years. The complex recently got some extra funding for new toilets, he said, but the Games remain largely out of reach for most residents.
“People don’t have the money to buy tickets,” he said. He’s hoping to get six free tickets for the judo competition to hand out to kids – three for the Olympics and three for the Paralympics. But he doubts the Games will have much of an impact on the community. “After the Olympics, we will return to just like before. We won’t benefit long term,” he said.
The Olympics have brought one undeniable bit of good news to Franc-Moisin. A new footbridge over a canal will open just before the Games. It will connect the neighbourhood to the Stade de France area, replacing an arched bridge that was built when the stadium opened. Residents have long complained that the old bridge was too steep for baby carriages or wheelchairs.
“It’s been years since people have been asking for it, and it came now,” said Nina Schmidt, who manages a local community centre. “It’s great,” she added, with a wry smile.