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Olympics: Organizers Build Buzz Around Opening Ceremony, But Local Businesses Lament That Crowds Have Yet to Appear in Paris
Landing the Summer Olympics was supposed to be a shot in the arm for France’s economy, but crowds have yet to appear in Paris.
Months ago, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo tried to drum up enthusiasm by pledging to swim in the Seine: The event would cap the city’s $1.5 billion project to clean up the notoriously toxic river. But before the mayor could show off her breaststroke, President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly, sweeping the country into a monthlong political storm that built to a snap parliamentary election on June 23. “Regular customers have been completely transparent and honest, telling me they won’t come to Paris this summer because the constraints around transportation and mobility really piss them off,” says Chloé Colin, who manages the wine-bar annex to the Bistrot Paul Bert, a popular destination for international gourmands.
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