Paris 2024: How is France preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics?
- Published
The organisers of Paris 2024 say the parliamentary elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron will not disrupt preparations for the Games.
However, the mayor of the French capital says holding elections less than a month before the Games begin is "extremely unsettling".
When are the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games?
The summer Olympics run from 26 July to 11 August, with 10,500 athletes competing in 329 events., external
The Paralympics take place from 28 August to 8 September, featuring 4,400 athletes in 549 events., external
There will be 206 countries represented at the Olympics, and 184 at the Paralympics.
More than 15 million tourists, external are expected in Paris during the Games.
How could the French elections affect the Olympics?
Parliamentary elections will be held on 30 June, with run-off elections on 7 July. They could result in a new government.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she has "difficulty understanding" why President Macron has called the elections so close to the event.
"A dissolution just before the Games... is extremely unsettling," she says.
However, the head of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, Tony Estanguet, insists his team is ready to deliver the Games.
In a statement to the Reuters news agency, external, he said: "All the major decisions have been taken a long time ago."
Where will Olympic and Paralympic events take place?
The main athletics events will be held at the Stade de France, on the northern outskirts of Paris.
However, there will be 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic venues, external in the city centre. For example, the Pont d'Iena will host cycling events, and the start and finish points for the marathon will be at the Hotel de Ville and Les Invalides.
Games venues in the centre of Paris will be cordoned off to the public and there will be extensive traffic restrictions., external
Swimming events are due to take place in the Seine in central Paris, but some could be delayed or even cancelled if heavy rain affects the river's water quality.
How are France's security forces preparing for the Olympics?
Worried about threats such as a drone attack, the government has cut spectator numbers for the Olympic opening ceremony, external.
The event is expected to see the national teams parading in boats along a 6km (3.8 mile) stretch of the River Seine through the centre of the capital.
The original plan was to give free tickets to 600,000 members of the public to watch from the banks. Now, however, tickets will go to only 300,000 invited guests.
The opening ceremony for the Olympics is meant to feature a parade of athletes on boats on the Seine
French President Emmanuel Macron has said the ceremony could be moved from the Seine to an enclosed stadium if the security risk seems too great.
The French government is using about 20,000 soldiers and more than 40,000 police officers to provide security. It will also have support from about 2,000 troops and police officers from other countries., external
French soldiers have had special security training ahead of the Olympics
In May, a man was detained on suspicion of planning an attack on the torch relay in Bordeaux, and another man was arrested in the south of the country over a plan to attack a football stadium which is an Olympic venue.
Mr Estanguet previously said that the "unprecedented" security operation in place means that participants and spectators "can have confidence" in the Games.
Has Russia been banned from Paris 2024?
Neither Russia nor Belarus is allowed to send teams, because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus's support for it.
Competitors from those countries can only compete as neutral athletes.
They will not be allowed to take part in the opening ceremony and will not have their national anthems played, or their national flags raised, if they win medals.
The Soviet Union held "Friendship Games" as a rival to the 1984 Olympics and Russia will do the same in 2024
Russia has said it is "outraged" at its athletes' treatment and has announced a "World Friendship Games" in Moscow and Yekaterinburg in September.
The Soviet Union held a similar event in 1984, after boycotting the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Has Israel been banned from Paris 2024?
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for not also barring Israel from taking part, because of its military operation in Gaza.
However, IOC president Thomas Bach rejected the demand, external and confirmed Israel's participation.
What is the Olympic Refugee team?
There are more than 36 million refugees in the world, external, according to the UN, and since 2016, an international team made up of refugees has competed in every Olympics.
The 2024 IOC Refugee Olympic Team, external is made up of 36 athletes living and training in host countries, having fled their own.
Members come from 11 different countries - including 15 from Iran and five from Syria - and they will be competing in 12 sports.
Are the Games popular in France?
One opinion poll suggested that 44% of Parisians think hosting the Olympics is a "bad thing", with many planning to leave town.
Bus and metro fares will double in the capital during the Games.
Les Phryges' are the Games' mascots. Their motto is "Alone we go faster, but together we go further"
The Olympic and Paralympic Village and a new aquatics centre are in a region north of Paris called Seine-Saint-Denis - one of the poorest parts of France.
Charities complained after hundreds of squatters were evicted, external from buildings close to the new sites.
Many Parisians are irritated at the security restrictions which will be imposed in the city centre.
"Paris will be unbearable," one resident told the BBC. "Impossible to park; impossible to move around; impossible to do anything."