Lampooning the Olympics, French Cartoonists Win Gold

As France prepares to welcome athletes and tourists from around the world, many French people are hanging onto their hats. While thousands have benevolently volunteered to help out, opportunists abound, exploring every angle to advance their personal gain. It’s been 100 years since the games last took place in Paris and considerations of transportation, safety, lodging, commerce, medical services, etc. are perhaps 100 times more complex than in 1924.

As Napoleon once said, il est dans le caractère français d’exagérer, de se plaindre et de tout défigurer qu’on est mécontent. That is, the French love to exaggerate, complain, and distort when they’re not happy. I’d add lampoon to that list. As someone who appreciates lighthearted ribbing of the powers that be, I admire France’s vibrant history of political mockery. In that light, I’ve put together a small sampling of gags poking fun at the foibles and frustrations accompanying the upcoming games.

You’re Expecting Us to Do What?

This year’s opening ceremony takes place on July 26 and the closing ceremony on August 11. During that period, France is expecting to receive 15 million visitors. They’ve built an Olympic Village to house the 10,500 athletes that will be competing but providing housing, transportation, and many other basic services for the human tidal wave hitting the city will require all hands on deck. “Tsk, tsk,” say French public servants, “that’s going to cost you.” Most French people take their vacations between July 15 and August 15. Thus, French unions, threatening to strike, have ensured their members receive a healthy bonus for putting in the requisite extra hours.

The original Olympic motto is Citius – Altius – Fortius, meaning Faster, Higher, Stronger. This cartoon, titled Olympic Games: Premiums for the workers involved, shows a perplexed administrator (maybe a reader can identify him for me in the comments) haggling with public servants demanding bigger, higher, and stronger bonuses.

Get Your Tickets

With over 15 million spectators and more than 300 events, ticket sales are astronomical, and so is the temptation for hackers and counterfeiters to get in on the action. French authorities are all too aware of scammers who target eager sports fans looking for a great deal. In 2022, 40,000 Liverpool fans showed up at the Stade de France with fake tickets for the Champions League final match. When they were turned away, more than a few became violent, violating normal soccer fan etiquette of waiting for a bad call before throwing a punch.

By May 2023, cybercrime investigators at France’s Ministry of the Interior had already identified 44 fraudulent Olympics ticketing sites, most located outside France.

Above, a software developer notes, there’s a lot of competition in the fraudulent ticket market. A shady businessman replies, the essential is to participate—a reference to a statement made in 1908 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in a speech proclaiming the values of Olympic competition.

Not So Fast Fella

During the games, only visitors with tickets will be allowed to access event spaces. However, French people live and work in these same areas and must be able to move about freely. As a result, the government has created the Jeux Pass, a QR code that residents, taxi drivers, delivery people, etc. can apply for and then use to go about their business.

There’s been much skepticism surrounding the pass and whether it will work as designed. In this cartoon, titled QR Code, For the Security of the Olympic Games?, a police officer throws Olympic cuffs upon a trespasser declaring, Another one without certification!

Ready, Set, Dive

During the 1900 Olympic Games, swimming events were held in the river Seine which winds through the center of Paris. By 1924, however, the water was deemed too filthy for immersion and athletes competed in swimming pools. One of the Olympic Committee’s goals has been to place 95% of all events in pre-existing structures, making the 2024 games “the most sustainable” in Olympic history. When the Seine was again chosen to host all swimming and diving competitions, I’m not sure sustainability was at the heart of the decision to spend $1.5 billion cleaning it up.

Despite the massive cost, many are skeptical that the once-toxic waterway will be safe. In an effort to muffle the critics, President Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo have vowed to dive into the purified waters on June 23rd. The clock is ticking down and the Seine has not yet been deemed safe. A small disgruntled group of French citizens has declared it’s preparing to upset the political photo-op by pooping in the Seine on the eve of the sanctifying plunge. This is France, after all.

Title above: Macron also swims in the Seine. A doctor comments, even so, it’s a bit risky, while a security agent replies, not as bad as mingling in the crowd.

The cartoon above is self-explanatory but you might not recognize the beaming women in the red blazer. It’s Mayor Hidalgo who has been exceedingly optimistic about the French capital’s ability to surmount all obstacles as well as her own shining legacy.

Clear the Homeless

For months France has been moving “undesirables” out of Paris as part of a clean-up operation. The expulsions target many of the local population’s most vulnerable residents: sex workers, drug addicts, asylum seekers, and others who live on the streets or in tent cities just outside the city limits. The initial goal was to find permanent, long-term housing for such people but from what I can tell, that worthy endeavor hasn’t been realized.

In the cartoon above, Relocating the Homeless to the Provinces before the Olympic Games.., a street-sweeper, operated by the former French Prime Minister, Élisabet Borne, displaces people sleeping on a sidewalk. (Borne’s successor, Gabriel Attal, took over her post on January 9 of this year.)

Above, a migrant father and son watch from space as a rocket ship heads back to earth. The father comments, We’ll have a hard time seeing the games from here…

Special Considerations

After vowing to improve access for people with disabilities, Paris won the bid for the Olympic Games as well as the Paralympic Games, which will be held between August 28 and September 11. Over 4,400 Paralympians from 184 nations are scheduled to compete and while many improvements have been made to the transportation grid to support them, France still has a long way to go. Even French para-athletes have trouble getting around in the city where they live and train.

Retrofitting a subway system designed at the turn of the 20th century, not to mention centuries-old shops and sidewalks, is taking longer than expected. French officials maintain, however, that the Parisian bus system and special shuttles are ready to handle the influx of an estimated 350,000 disabled visitors.

Above, an athlete strains to assess the route of a stone stairway saying, Maybe they want us to start here.

Lodgings of Complaint

Providing lodging for the influx of tourists and support personnel has called for creative measures. For example, more than 2,000 university students will have to leave their dormitories to make room for supplemental firefighters, law enforcement, and civil security officials. To compensate for the inconvenience of moving to housing that might be far from campus, they’ll receive a stipend of €100 and two free tickets to attend an Olympic event. So, after treating a friend to a world-class badminton match, they can still cover the Olympic-inflated prices of a Parisian dinner out.

Restaurants aren’t the only businesses jacking up their prices. Hotels are winning gold in this category. For example, according to Le Monde, a room in an Ibis hotel normally runs from €80 to €200, depending on room amenities and arrondissement. But during the Olympics, guests will pay between €300 and €700.

Above, a well-to-do couple checks into a Parisian hotel. The man says to the clerk, Excuse me, but there is a rat in my €1000 room. The clerk replies, and did he let you know whether he’d like the complimentary breakfast?

Endnote

The French may tell you that newspapers and magazines in France are in decline. This may be true but to an American who has watched every newsstand in her hometown close, France’s plethora of kiosks, overflowing with daily, weekly, and monthly publications gives the impression of a thriving market for print journalism. A highlight of any stroll in Paris is entering one of these stalls and browsing the racks. Over the years, I’ve developed some favorite periodicals and one is Le Canard Enchainé. Printed weekly on newsprint, the satirical paper might be considered a more refined version of Charlie Hebdo.

In addition to their weeklies, Le Canard Enchainé also produces thick special editions in a magazine format, called dossiers. These issues are packed with great information and last year I picked up one devoted to the 2024 Olympic Games. A number of the cartoons in this post came from that issue.

If, like me, you value freedom of the press and a thriving market for journalism, make sure you visit a kiosk or newsstand the next time you’re in France and pick up a few French periodicals. Even if you don’t read French, you’ll probably get the gist of a few stories, learn a few words, and help support a vital institution.