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PARIS (AP) – Gomes Antonio has spent the past few weeks waking up at 4 a.m. to start his rounds in Paris delivering sheets of paper in a white van.
It was the only way the 60-year-old glass vendor could navigate the closed streets of the city center and the wall blocking the bridge over the River Seine, which was put in place as part of heightened security restrictions for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics on Friday. along the waterway.
Metal barricades blocking streets, closed metro stations and then sabotage on French railways on Friday that halted high-speed rail travel to and from the city left Parisians and visitors grumbling. But now that the opening ceremony is over, many hope that parts of the city center will reopen.
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The Pont Des Invalides, a bridge spanning the Seine near the Eiffel Tower, was opened on Saturday, and several police barricades were removed. But people like Antonio say they still struggle to find work.
“I hope everything will be more flexible” in the coming days, said Antonio, who is Portuguese and has lived in Paris for 42 years. “We got to do a ton of laps.”
He planned to drive 4 kilometers to deliver the page on Saturday but had already driven more than 10. “I had to change the route, the road, everything.”
Shops and restaurants also had problems with slower-than-expected business, which was largely caused by the chilling effect of the opening ceremony’s security measures. He also pointed to tourists avoiding Paris during the Olympics and many Parisians fleeing the city.
At the opening ceremony, beams of light from the Eiffel Tower illuminated the rainy sky, the Olympic crater floated in hot air balloons and some of the world’s most famous singers gave thrilling performances, including Celine Dion and Lady Gaga.
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The event stunned Parisians and visitors alike, but some were still frustrated and unsure a day after crews cleared the ceremony and armed police and military patrolled the streets.
“All of this is a red zone,” Antonio said. “Now, it’s easier … but I think we need to open more for people who work. … Without this car, we can’t work.”
Up to 45,000 police and gendarmes as well as 10,000 soldiers have been deployed for Olympic security. People need a QR code to pass the snaking metal barrier that marks the security zone for the opening ceremony, but many in Paris struggle to get a pass or don’t know they need it.
Although the barricades arrived on Saturday, Antonio, who removed the glass that had to be installed in the house on Monday, is worried that the respite from the traffic chaos will be short-lived.
Still, he acknowledged that some security restrictions were needed and saw large numbers of police blocking important roads during a “complicated moment” of greater global tensions.
Some Parisians who travel by bike say they are frustrated by not being able to get home. Another man walking along the Seine in the pouring rain said he was delighted by the reduced traffic levels as he had “never seen Paris so calm on a Saturday.” Some authorities welcome the cleaning of metro stations and work to make the lines in the city run smoothly.
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For Katherine Queroel, a 58-year-old Parisian, walking across the Invalides bridge was a joy after struggling with transportation for the past few weeks.
With a sick mother living near the Eiffel Tower and a father who recently died, he said closed metro stations and bridges added significant obstacles as he tried to get his mother to the hospital and arrange his father’s funeral.
Queroel said he and his mother got a taxi on Thursday and had to pay a higher rate than usual trying to find their way across the Seine. It takes an hour to travel 2 kilometers, he said.
“Today is better, because you can walk and ride a bike. But on Thursday, it’s complicated,” he said on Saturday.
Despite several blockades, he said he plans to adjust his travel route in the long term as Olympic and Paralympic activities will continue until September.
“We have to organize ourselves,” he said. “But until September, it will be difficult.”
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
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