Curious how Paris Olympics will affect those of you living in Paris

All my closest friends who live in Paris are heading out of town for the. Olympics

I don't know anyone who's bothering with them or even being in Paris at that time. Even friends who have children competing aren't going.

I find it very interesting that the OP only seems to be interested in hearing the negative impact the games will have on the locals. The OP only mentions demonstrations, security issues, crowds etc etc as a potential impact. What about the positive impact?
I know I’ve said it before, but I’m surprised about the amount of negativity about the Paris Olympics on this board. I sometimes feel that, on this forum, I’m the only one who is actually looking forward to enjoying 2.5 weeks of great sports in an even greater city.

I think that since Covid, the crowds in Paris have been horrendous. However, many Parisians traditionally leave Paris during August for their annual 5 week vacation. For those wanting good news, that might be that many Parisians are renting out their apartments this year at sizable sums while they vacation elsewhere.

I will be leaving as I usually do at that time of the year. I do have some friends / family who stay, either because they have to (work catering to Olympics crowd) or because they want to experience at least part of it all.
In August, usually, the influx of tourists is balanced by the outflow of Parisians; many parts of the city feel emptier than usual.

I have two friends who live in Paris. One woman is volunteering cannot wait. She’s so excited. She has her volunteer assignments. She’s really looking forward to the whole event.

The other one is going to visit family in Norway for the entire month. It seems to be a mixed bag.

That’s very similar to what I saw in Atlanta there were groups of people like myself who just were thrilled crowds or no crowds. We were going to be Olympics and we had a wonderful time and then there were groups of people (my other half included) who stayed out in the suburbs and stayed as far away as possible from the Olympics.

The one who’s going to Norway has told me, however, that unfortunately, all the hype about how much money you could get renting your apartment during the Olympics has turned out to be just that - hype. Thar also happened in Atlanta. They were originally planning to rent their apartment and the prices have gotten so low that they’ve decided it’s not worth the risk of having someone trash it. (And it’s a very nice apartment more than I could ever afford in Paris)

I would be afraid to rent out a personal apartment except to close friends. It is one things to have a holiday apartment filled with IKEA junk and another to have your personal space with good furniture, personal items (even stowed away) etc at the mercy of strangers who at worst could trash a place but even at best are not likely to treat it as their own.

My friend who lives there is also planning on leaving, she asked me if I knew any trusted people to rent her apartment to and I would have jumped on it, but we have had ours booked for the past 2 years. We had a friend whose son may be on the USA team, but they aren't likely to go because he will probably only be an alternate.

We were just in Paris in April. It seemed sparkly clean, but with the exception of the temporary stadiums being set up around the city, there wasn't much to indicate that the Olympics were coming; such as signs, flags, etc. The Olympic rings hadn't gone up on the Eiffel Tower by then. I know everything in the world has changed, but growing up in LA, the '84 Olympics was a fun and exciting time; and I hope everyone in Paris can appreciate the excitement that the Olympics brings rather than focus on the short term inconveniences; which I realize will be many. Of course, I'll really be able to see how much things have changed since '84, when the next summer Olympics are held in LA in 2028.

I think residents will be surprised in the end how much they enjoy the whole affair in their city.
When the 2010 Olympics were held in Vancouver, a lot of us were not sure it was a good idea at all, but at the end of it all, we realised it had been a lot of fun!
Friends who volunteered had a wonderful time and one friend was a torch- bearer.
Think positive.

Dutch, lighten up. “I find it very interesting that the OP only seems to be interested in hearing the negative impact the games will have on the locals.”

Just read any local media, and you will find what I am asking about is written about a lot.

Being “negative” was not my intent at all. I love Paris. It’s my favorite place in the World which is why I keep going back. I have a genuine interest in how locals feel about it all, and how it will affect them. What will public transit be like? What will it do to crowding cafes and restaurants? It’s not meant to be negative. With all the media hype, I was just wondering how it feels. Where I am from, we have had a Super Bowl, a World Series, NBA Championships, etc. and just a weekend is enough to make you bonkers. Sure, it brings the City money, but if you live around it, it can get hectic.

I appreciate all of you who answered my question and shared your insights. Balso and Tocard, you brought up a good point I forgot about- Parisians leaving town for August vacations. KD and SJ, great input on how your cities fared during their hosting of the Olympics. I bet it was very exciting.

We checked in to hotel pricing a few months ago for the month of August. Sticker shock for sure! I can’t wait to watch it on TV, especially the opening Ceremony on the Seine. As always, I look forward to my Fall trip back to Paris.

You might watch some videos from Jay Swanson, an American who lives there. He's riding around on his bike showing the changes. They're building big stadiums near the Tuileries.

He also did a video with Les Frenchies where they were trying to figure out if it was going to be good or bad, they couldn't decide.

My friends are carrying on as usual, not paying much attention. They’ll follow their usual July/August schedules in town and going out of town on vacations.

In LA in 1984, we were asked to stay out of traffic as much as possible. This resulted in the freeways being empty.

Almost all my Parisian friends are going to leave Paris.

Some live right in the center in the “hot zones” where it will be almost impossible for them to get around as usual, they have put their apartment on Airbnb at 250€ or €350/night for 1 or 2 months and will be able to afford nice vacation thanks to the money earned!

Some will come to us to go sightseeing and enjoy the countryside. Fortunately we have enough room to accommodate a few Parisian shipwrecked :))

Phred, I love his videos! I think you may have recommended his videos before on here. Just watched the recent one and made me so jealous I can't be there! It's amazing how the construction is popping up everywhere since my last visit. This is what I'm talking about! I am curious about apartment rentals. I would imagine the City will have a hard time enforcing short-term rentals during this time. Thanks everyone for your input. I do enjoy reading it all and learning what it's like.