Parisians Beg Tourists to Stay Away from Paris During Olympics

With the 2024 Paris Olympics only a month away, citizens of Paris residents are sharing videos encouraging a boycott and urging foreigners not to visit Paris.

According to the New York Times (NYT), on June 14, numerous videos were shared on TikTok and other platforms, warning visitors to Paris during the Olympics that they would not have a pleasant experience.

Miranda Starcevic, a 31-year-old French-American living in Paris, posted a video on TikTok saying, “If you were planning to come to Paris for the Olympics, why? do not come. Don’t come over here!”

Using the nickname Leo Nora, a 24-year-old Parisian college student warned that the Paris Olympics would be “dangerous” and a “living hell.”

The NYT reported that these Olympic boycott videos have been viewed thousands to over a million times.

This phenomenon is interpreted as a reaction to rising prices and worsening accommodation shortages caused by the influx of tourists and event officials worldwide.

Indeed, in their videos, both Starcevic and Nora expressed dissatisfaction with the Paris city authorities’ plan to provide student dormitories to Olympic officials.

There is also considerable resentment about the expected near doubling of Paris subway fares and the price surge during the Olympics.

In addition, citizens are warning of potential traffic chaos, terrorist attacks, and an increase in various crimes such as fraud and pickpocketing targeting tourists.

Starcevic stated that she plans to leave Paris and stay in the south of France during the Olympics, saying, “I’m lucky to be able to go, but most people don’t have my privilege.”