Parisians fume, feud and flee as Olympics spark mass exodus

Fed-up Frenchies have revealed the unpleasant reality of life in Paris as many make a last-ditch attempt to Airbn-flee. James Weir sees what le fuss is about.

Parisians are fuming, feuding and fleeing as the Olympics opening ceremony looms over the French capital with some locals declaring they feel they’re being given the stale end of the baguette.

“I don’t even know who’s still here,” says Lindsey Tramuta, an American journalist and author who has lived in Paris for 18 years.

Like many other residents, she’s skipping town this weekend and will stay out of the city for the duration of the two-week sporting event.

She says locals got the message loud and clear: they’re trés unwelcome.

Parisians flee ahead of the Olympics. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir

“As of January, we were seeing (notices) to work from home and to not order anything online to get delivered during the games because that leads to traffic on the streets,” she says.

“All these subtle hints that the city can’t function well if all the Parisians stay. On top of that, our taxes are being used for security.”

She says locals are copping the downsides of the global event “without being able to benefit from the ambience”.

Parisians are fed-up as the Olympic games ceremony approaches. Picture: James Weir

In an attempt to find a silver lining, and some extra euros, many residents hatched a plan: they’d rent out their apartments to tourists and ditch the city while the Games were on. Oui – an Airbn-flee.

The flaw? Tourism hasn’t boomed the way city officials had projected. Many hopeful rentals have been left Champs-Émpty.

“I have friends who’ve left to go holiday in the south and they’re trying to rent their flat for the Olympics but most of them didn’t find someone,” says Antoine Millot, 34, a party promoter who has lived in Paris all his life.

In an attempt to find a silver lining, and some extra euros, many residents have hatched a plan. Picture: James Weir

Richard Bilkey, an Australian editor who has lived in Paris for 10 years, had the idea to rent out his apartment on Airbnb during the Olympics and use the windfall of cash to pay for his summer holiday.

“People were putting their homes up for $2000 a night,” he says of the other listings he saw on the site.

“We put ours considerably lower than others in the area but didn’t get any traction. Nothing. We kept dropping the price. And as months passed, we could see other renters kept dropping their prices, too.”

They finally “got a bite” three weeks ago and managed to rent their home for a few days.

“But that gold rush never appeared,” he says.

Some shopkeepers are wondering, where are all the tourists? Picture: James Weir

Airbnb Australia and New Zealand manager Susan Wheeldon says the number of active listings in the Paris region increased 40 per cent during the year’s first quarter and that the company expects to house “the equivalent of filling the Stade de France multiple times over” during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

According to the Paris tourism board, about 11.5 million tourists are expected in the city during the Olympics – a figure that’s down from an initial projection of 15 million.

Approximately 11.5 million tourists are expected in the city. Picture: James Weir

Parisians are très miffed. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir.

Air France-KLM this week blamed the Olympics for battering its profits in the most recent quarter, with a loss of $217 million. The Franco-Dutch airline had projected a dip in revenues and passenger traffic, predicting tourists would avoid the city during the sporting event.

Many residents and local media are pointing fingers at the tedious security hurdles, expensive tickets and transport issues.

Many restaurants and cafes are empty in the lead up to the opening ceremony. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir.

Tourism hasn’t boomed the way city officials had projected. Picture: James Weir

Abraham Arockie owns Au Palais Des Souvenirs, a trinket store peddling miniature Eiffel Tower statues, Mona Lisa socks and plush toy versions of Phryge, the Paris Olympic mascot. His store is around the corner from the iconic Moulin Rouge cabaret theatre, a tourist magnet in the city neighbourhood of Montmartre. However, the Mona Lisa sock biz is apparently in a slump.

Some locals are renting their apartments to tourist. Picture: James Weir

“I was expecting many tourists but I just don’t see many,” he says.

Jay Swanson, an American YouTuber who shares Paris-centric videos about his adopted home to his 90,000 subscribers, compares the quiet city to “a state-instituted park”.

“Parts of Paris feel like they’ve turned into nature preserves – cars aren’t allowed, people aren’t around,” he says.

Parisians typically leave the city in August. Picture: James Weir

Ms Tramuta, who literally wrote the book on France when she published her best-selling guide, The New Paris, says Parisians typically leave the city in August, during the European summer. But the exodus started early ahead of the Games.

“It usually is still a city that is alive,” she says. “This moment we’re in right now should be way busier.”

One business is losing an estimated $30,000 a day due to obstructions and lack of foot traffic. Picture: James Weir

Along the Seine, which will be the centrepiece of the Opening Ceremony, restaurants and shops were preparing for a business boon. Then the 44,000 mental barriers were installed – barricading out those who don’t have an approved QR code to enter the area. Some locals have started calling it the “jail cage”.

Jane Bertch – a Chicago native who moved to Paris 15 years ago to open La Cuisine Paris culinary school along the city’s iconic river, says the intense security measures have contributed to what she estimates is a 50 per cent drop in business.

'People here are difficult,' says one local, who plans on bunkering down in his apartment until the Olympics is over. Picture: news.com.au/James Weir.

“My colleagues who are restaurateurs who rely on foot traffic … a lot of them have closed. So that’s been physical – you can see it, you can feel it,” she says.

Over at Chez Julien, the world-famous bistro that has become an Instagram staple thanks to its appearance in frothy shows like Emily In Paris and Gossip Girl, business has dropped this week from about 300 customers a day to barely 50.

The restaurant’s manager, Marcianna Borowicz, calculates the business is losing $30,000 a day because of the obstructions and lack of foot traffic.

“Parisians quit – they left Paris because they don’t want to stay here in the Olympics because the traffic is terrible,” she says. “We don’t have the Parisians and we don’t have the tourists.”

On the nearby party strip in the Marais neighbourhood, Recardo Sousa is heading home to his apartment to avoid the disruptions caused by the pending opening ceremony.

“For people living here, it’s complicated,” the waiter, 23, says.

“People here are difficult.”

Facebook: @hellojamesweir