France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, has supported Paris’s move to reserve over 2,000 student apartments for workers of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games, with the main event being scheduled between July 26 and August 28, 2024.
According to Reuters, the ruling comes after a lower court temporarily suspended the measure, sparking debates and criticism from student unions and leftwing local politicians.
No applicable laws invalidate the decision to end student leases in some student housing blocks on June 30 to accommodate staff needed for the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games, the Conseil d’Etat said in its decision sent to Reuters on Saturday.
The move was initially rejected by student unions and left-leaning politicians who voiced concerns about the impact on students needing housing during the summer break. Paris’s CROUS student services operator responded to these concerns by assuring that alternative housing options would be provided to affected students.
While the decision has been divisive, supporters argue that prioritising accommodation for Olympic workers is crucial for the successful execution of the upcoming Summer Games. The court’s ruling reaffirms the legality of the measure and clears the way for preparations for the international sporting event to proceed and be implemented smoothly.
The Paris Olympics 2024 website, which is the official hospitality service provider, shows that over 181,000 jobs are expected to be generated to organise the Games, allowing thousands of people to be employed.
To make sure that as many people as possible apply, including those who are struggling to find and stay in work, we are working closely on every aspect of the Games with the entire employment sector: the Ministry of Labour, the Greater Paris region, the City of Paris, the Seine-Saint-Denis department and combined authorities (such as Plaine Commune and Paris Terre d’Envol).
However, the employment sector for the Paris Olympics 2024 has not gotten away without controversy. In October, Reuters reported that workers blocked activity at the construction site of an Olympic arena in northern Paris as they demanded contracts and French residency permits.
Approximately 120 workers entered the site early in the morning of a Tuesday and said they planned to stay until their demands were met.
Around 20 of the striking workers said they had been employed on the site of the Porte de la Chapelle arena, which is set to host badminton and gymnastic competitions in the 2024 Summer Olympics, while others said they worked in similar conditions at construction sites around the city.
Arnaud de Riviere de la Mure, a unionist, criticised the conditions in Olympic sites.
As usual, in construction, there is a chain of subcontractors, and in this chain, there is misery and exploitation.
There have also been reports of workers suing construction companies due to unpaid labour for Paris 2024 venues, while African undocumented workers are often affected by such conditions.
