“This is a video for everyone coming to the Paris Olympics in 2024,” the woman says. Clips posted to TikTokShe paused for a moment before continuing, “Don’t come. Cancel it all.”
The video, uploaded in November, has now been viewed more than 700,000 times.
The creator, Miranda Starcevic, is a 31-year-old French-American living in Paris who usually records herself speaking French, but thought that the message about the Olympics would be better conveyed to more people if she recorded it in English.
And Starcevic wanted her viewers to know that from the perspective of the French people, who are, in her words, “sort of middle class,” that “nobody wants the Olympics. It’s just chaos.”
TikTok, a global, visually-driven platform with a young user base, is chock full of Olympic-related content. But it also offers a feel-good window into the lives of athletes and Organizer As well as sponsors, there is raw footage of Parisians warning potential visitors that the city may not be performing at its best during the Olympics.
A 24-year-old Parisian student who goes by the name Leo Nora posted a few short videos about the Paris Olympics with the caption:dangerous” and “Hell on Earth. “
In one of the videos, she says to the camera: “If you’re going to come to Paris for the Olympics, why not?” Dont come“…Don’t come!” The video has been viewed over 1 million times.
“I’ve lived in Paris all my life,” Leo Nora said in an interview, “and I’ve been to really big events there. The reason I wanted to talk about this is because I know how Paris can work and how it can go wrong.”
She and Starcevic had similar reasons for encouraging people to avoid the Olympics: Both expressed frustration with the city’s push to host the games. Students abandoning their dormitories The move was made to ensure accommodation is available for workers during the Olympics, and both sides expressed frustration and concern over transportation.
Organizers and government officials are concerned about transport worker strikes during the Olympics, as well as more serious issues like terrorism, and some creators have posted about widespread strikes in Paris. tourist scam, Pickpocket And recently Hotel price hikeTikTok users also warned that trains could become extremely crowded.
“It’s not uncommon for people to faint on the subway,” Leo Nora said. When someone faints, she said, “it stops the line and causes delays.”
“Tessa Biccard, a cosmetics executive who goes by the TikTok handle Madame Tartempion, said:The Olympics will be a nightmare for Paris.” The video has been viewed more than 750,000 times and generated hundreds of comments.
Biccard, a Northern California native who has lived in Paris for more than 12 years, said in an interview that she’s actually a big Olympics fan.
“I’ve been watching every year since I was a kid,” she said. “I love swimming, and women’s gymnastics, of course,” but added that she’s “never been more excited about the Olympics.”
The main reason, she said, is not having tickets. “They’re either too expensive or unavailable,” she said. She also stressed that various construction projects for the Olympics are already making daily life difficult. The expected influx of tourists is Millions of Olympic spectatorsShe fears it will only make things worse: “My bus route is total chaos.”
As an American living in Paris, Biccard uses her TikTok account to answer questions about the city and to share her experiences.How to spot an American in Paris. “
Americans ask, “What’s the best place? What’s the best neighborhood? What’s your favorite restaurant? All that stuff,” she says. She responds to as many as she can. “There’s this ‘I speak American English, so I can trust you,'” she says.
When it comes to the Olympics, Bicard’s views are somewhat more moderate than those of more vocal opponents of the Olympics such as Leo Nora and Starčević.
“If you’re coming here for the Olympics, hopefully this isn’t your once-in-a-lifetime visit to Paris,” she said, adding that there will be planning challenges. “Trying to do something ‘Parisian’ is going to be really difficult and I don’t think it’s going to be fun,” she said.
Bicard said she, like Starcevic, Leo Nora and most Parisians, expects “huge chaos” on the subway once the Olympics begin. She said posters and signs are already hanging around the city urging residents to get excited about the Olympics. Many see it as “a bit of a code word,” hinting at what many are already thinking: “If you can, or if you can afford it, get out of town.”
Leo Nora, who normally posts about feminism and racial issues on TikTok, isn’t planning on being in Paris for the Olympics; her boyfriend lives outside the city and she’ll be with him. “Crowds make me anxious,” she said. “I don’t want to be the one who faints and disappoints everyone.”
Starcevic said: Sustainable online fashion brandShe booked tickets months ago to get out of the city and spend a few days in Biarritz with a friend and in the south of France during the Olympics. “I’m lucky enough to be able to go,” she says, “but most people don’t have my privilege.”
But Biccard says she plans to stay put — she plans to bike or walk to work instead of taking the metro — and she said she expects one of two things to happen: “It’ll either be complete chaos or it’ll be surprisingly calm,” she said.
In any case, she shrugs and says, “Paris is my home. I love it.” And she doesn’t frown on the anger of other Parisians.
“I’m married to a Parisian,” she says, “so I can say with some authority that Parisians are not necessarily the easiest people to get along with.”
