At a time when the aestheticism of Paris is debating, the information has raised serious concerns.
On Monday, the organizing committee for the 2024 Olympic Games (Cojo) unveiled the central role that Place de la Concorde will play during this major event.
There will be “an urban park”, where BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding and 3 x 3 basketball events will be held. A site capable of accommodating 37,000 people per day.
There was no surprise.
Getting the Games out of the stadiums is a clearly stated objective on the part of the Cojo.
Except to this presentation was added a synthetic image of the places in their Olympic version.
The obelisk, in the center, is surrounded there, some say drowned, by several grounds and stands.
The other historical elements of this majestic square in the capital, such as the fountains?
Many have disappeared.
This is what the Place de la Concorde looks like today.
We can see all the heritage elements deleted on the visual of the Cojo.
/ LP / Olivier Corsan Olivier CORSAN
Enough to enrage the defenders of Parisian heritage.
"How will the protection of these elements be ensured?"
“, Worries one on the social network Twitter, where the SaccageParis movement was born.
"Too bad we did not decapitate the obelisk," quips another.
Above all, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor (PS), is targeted.
“Learn that when it comes to #saccageparis, the municipality never jokes.
She goes all out and does things very well, ”comments another Internet user.
However, the City said it was just as surprised.
“The subject was quite poorly coordinated.
This visual came out without anticipation.
This poses a few problems for us, ”annoys Pierre Rabadan, deputy in charge of Sports, the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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But then, is this projection of Concorde intended to be “contractual”? Will we really see these giant red stands? "The installations linked to the Olympic Games must be done with all the necessary heritage precautions, so that nothing is damaged", insists Pierre Rabadan. Which here seems far from being the case. “This is why we are unhappy. The idea, with this visual, was rather to reveal the future organization of the places. "
If the organizing committee of the Olympic Games does not officially comment on the case, internally, we say no less.
In this visual, we must not take into account the color, the height of the stands or even the enhancement of the heritage.
On these subjects, we are still only at the sketch stage.
It was rather a question of lifting the veil on an overhaul of the Olympic Games project for the Concorde.
This is what Place de la Concorde should look like in the JO version, according to the project unveiled in 2019 by the organizing committee.
/ DR
A first version, unveiled in December 2019, presented a square on which was to be installed as a Roman arena, closed, with the obelisk enthroned in its center.
The objective is now to open the premises to the outside.
Hence this divided space, with easier circulation between each sector.
May Parisians be reassured.
The enhancement of Paris remains one of the objectives of the Olympic Games, as further indicated on the website of the event.
Whether it is the Palace of Versailles with horseback riding, the Eiffel Tower with beach volleyball ... With, moreover, facilities that will stay as short as possible.
As for the Place de la Concorde, “it will evolve before and after the Olympic Games, as planned,” recalls Pierre Rabadan. Last January, Anne Hidalgo announced her intention to “redo the Place de la Concorde before the Games, then the entire avenue of the Champs-Élysées afterwards. It will be another extraordinary garden. "
