Eric Monnin: "The Paris 2024 Games must leave an intangible legacy"

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Updated on 28/05/2024

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Eric Monnin, standing in front of the Olympic Rings.
Crédit photo : Ludivine Boizard / Ville de Paris

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Eric Monnin, sociologist, historian and scientific advisor on Paris's Olympic history takes a look at the ties between Paris and the Games.

How has Paris influenced the history of the Olympic Games?

Pierre de Coubertin was determined to overhaul the French education system, and in June 1888, he founded the Comité pour la propagation des exercices physiques [Physical exercice propagation committee] under the presidency of Jules Simon, which he strengthened in 1890 with the Revue athlétique newspaper.
He also forged closer ties with the USFSA, the French Athletic Sports Union, the forerunner of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee. And it was at the Paris International Congress, held from June 16 to 23, 1894, in the Sorbonne's grand amphitheater, that managed to revitalize the Olympic Games and create the famous IOC, the International Olympic Committee. Paris was thus at the very genesis of this new Olympism.
The IOC is organized through an Executive Board, also created in Paris in 1921, with commissions, sessions and congresses. Eight IOC sessions have been held in the capital (1894, 1901, 1903, 1914, 1922, 1924, 1955 and 1994).
The IOC's constitution was validated at the headquarters of the French Olympic Committee, held in the eighth arrondissement of Paris on November 7, 1921. A total of twelve Executive Commissions met in Paris. The Games were thus first organized in the capital. And so it was that Paris was awarded the Games of the Second Olympiad in 1900.

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In the first episode of Enjeux, the podcast that answers Parisians' questions about the Games, Ève Brunelle, equipment project manager at the General Delegation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Eric Monnin, French sports historian and sociologist, examine the tangible and intangible legacy of the 1924 edition, and discuss the catalytic effect of the Games on reconstruction work, while tracing the great history of the Olympics.

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Conversely, what influence have the Olympic Games had on the City of Paris?

Alfred Picard, General Commissioner of the Universal Exhibition, did not want the Olympic Games, which he described as anachronistic. He decided to move the Games to Vincennes. This led to the creation and inauguration of metro line 1 in July 1900.
The Games opened in a velodrome called the Cipale (now the Vélodrome Jacques-Anquetil). These were not like the Games as we know today but they are still called the Olympic Games.
Paris held the Games for a second time in 1924, even though the city didn't really want to organize them. But Pierre de Coubertin, who was nearing the end of his term as IOC President, was determined to hold them again. Amsterdam and Los Angeles were also candidates at the time. So as not to frustrate the city of Amsterdam, the IOC chose Paris for 1924, and Amsterdam for 1928. One hundred years later, the same scenario was similarly repeated: a double vote for Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
Some 3,089 athletes were expected at the 1924 Games and Paris was short of infrastructure. The Racing Club de France, which owned land, notably in Colombes, offered to make it available to the French Olympic Committee. Colombes was to become the site of the Cité Olympique [Olympic Village] and the Olympic Stadium.
Although Paris was reluctant to host the Games and build new infrastructure, it nevertheless made the Vélodrome d'Hiver [destroyed in 1959, editor's note], the Bergeyre stadium [on the eponymous hilltop, editor's note] and the Tournelles swimming pool available.
These Games will also saw surprising events such as the Arts Competition, which brought competitions in architecture, painting, literature, sculpture and music together.
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Why did France play such an important role in the renewal of the Games even though it wasn't a top level sporting nation?

I'd say the reasons were both cultural and financial. In England, the Industrial Revolution started in 1760, whereas in France, it happened over a century later. Sportsmen (athletes), public schools (private schools) and English universities such as Eton, Cambridge and Oxford gave young people the opportunity to practice sport.
Pierre de Coubertin drew a great deal of inspiration from English Universities when he revamped the Olympic Games. He was greatly influenced by his travels, particularly in England. In 1887, he gave a speech on English education and the benefits of physical activity against work fatigue and diseases such as tuberculosis. A year later, he published L'Education en Angleterre [Education in England].

Aside from Pierre de Coubertin, who else had an impact on sports in Paris?

We love to about Pierre de Coubertin, but Frantz Reichel is also a very important figure for Paris and sport. There's even a monument dedicated to him in the 16th arrondissement, but he's largely unknown! He was a great name in French sport, a rugby player who developed sport for many years, but always remained Pierre de Coubertin's shadow. [Frantz Reichel was General Secretary of the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (USFSA), of the Comité national des sports (CNS) and, as such, of the Comité d'organisation des Jeux olympiques (COJO) for the 1924 Paris and Chamonix Games, editor's note].

What sort of legacy will the Paris 2024 Games leave for the public?

The Olympic Games are very important for athletes who have spent a lifetime training and making sacrifices. The Games represent the culmination of a career. For the public, they are above all a sporting spectacle, with incredible technical and physical prowess.
Will these Olympic Games leave a legacy on French society? Will they usher in a new age of social inclusion? Not just disability inclusion but also gender equality and the fight against physical inactivity and obesity. During Covid-19, people took refuge behind screens and telephones, relationships and social ties were broken. These can be part of these Games objectives: the return of social ties and renewed mobility.
The Paris 2024 Games will also leave an intangible legacy and not just in Paris. Popularizing sport before and after the Games, through the famous Olympic and Paralympic weeks is also a massive objective.

How do you respond to criticism the Games, and in particular the cost?

Criticism is perfectly normal, that's what democracy is all about. But I would like to remind people that up to 96% of the Paris 2024 Games are privately financed. A third of revenue comes from ticket sales: of the 10 million tickets, 5 million are sold for less than 50 euros with one million tickets costing 24 euros. Only around 400,000 tickets cost more than 400 euros. I sometimes get the impression that the critics don't understand the mechanics of it all. These Games will cost France and the French state nothing!
As for the Olympic torch relay passing through cities and "départements", this does have a cost, but it also sheds light [on places around France] and gives them opportunity to play a role in these Games. Of course some things have a cost because they need to be organized properly!

In 2022, you wrote a report on the history and location of the Games in Paris. What does it say?

Having venues and history doesn't necessarily mean that Olympic culture (Olympism) is still present in a city. The general idea is that the Olympic Games can travel the world, bringing Olympism to nations.
The history of the original Olympic village and the history of the City of Paris through Olympism show that Paris was the nervous center of the institution that Pierre de Coubertin, renovator of the Games, created. Paris is historically, culturally and athletically charged with Olympism.

Watch the first eight episodes of our summer series on the Olympic Games!