Election anxiety curbs Olympic enthusiasm among Parisians ahead of the Summer Games

PARIS (AP) — Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city is now mingled with anxiety about France’s political future.

The far-right National Rally’s strong results in the first round of a rushed election has darkened the ambience for many in Paris, a left-wing stronghold that is one of the few places in France where the party failed to break through.

“Just imagining the far-right leading the country gives me panic attacks,” 54-year-old Fabienne Martin said after finishing lunch with her son on the upscale Rue de Faubourg Saint-Honoré. “I was excited when the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille, but this election has completely killed the mood.”

Though the outcome is uncertain, the second round of the legislative elections on July 7 could mark a significant shift in France’s political landscape, with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally poised to potentially gain power.

In Paris, where the National Rally received only 10% of the votes in the first round Sunday —compared with 33% nationwide —the prospects of France getting its first far-right government since World War II has pulled attention away from the city hosting the Summer Olympics for the first time in 100 years.

“I’m tensed, stressed, and anxious to see how things will turn out,” said Marius Rumillat, a 28-year-old screenwriter, enjoying a croissant in a cafe in downtown Paris.

To him, the Olympics have become a sideshow.

“Even after the elections, I’m not sure my interest will grow back,” he said.

The Paris Olympics are set to be inaugurated on July 26 with a historic four-hour opening ceremony featuring a boat parade on the River Seine. The city is buzzing with activity to prepare for unprecedented games that will incorporate some of the world's most famous monuments. While construction crews are still building various Olympic venues, from the base of the Eiffel Tower to the Place de la Concorde, organizers insist everything will be ready on time and that the election won’t disrupt the preparations.

“France is experiencing a major democratic moment,” chief organizer Tony Estanguet said this week. “We have to stay in our places so that each and every French citizen can enjoy the games they’re looking forward to.”

Estanguet, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in canoeing, has carefully steered clear of politics as head of the organizing committee.

While Parisians fret about the election, many foreign visitors appear unaware or unbothered by the political developments, enjoying the masterpieces in the Louvre Museum and posing for photos in front of the Olympic Rings draped beneath the Eiffel Tower.

“I think that most people care about the Olympics, not politics,” said Young Mook Park, a 44-year-old tourist from South Korea, who reached through a construction barrier to snap a picture of Paris’ historic city hall.

President Emmanuel Macron called the snap election after a defeat at the hands of the National Rally in European Parliament elections last month, gambling that the far-right would not repeat its success in a domestic ballot. The plan backfired and his party is now desperately trying to prevent Le Pen's party of wining an outright majority in the second round.

In the Batignolles food market, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, of Macron's Renaissance party, campaigned Tuesday with one of his ministers, Stanislas Guerini, who is at risk of losing his seat in the National Assembly.

Thierry Chesnel, a 54-year-old butcher, watched the entourage pass his stand, followed by a swarm of cameras. He expressed indifference about the campaigning.

“All I care about, frankly, is getting more clients in front of my shop. Is Mr. Attal bringing more clients? No,” he grumbled.

Chesnel said he did not feel any excitement about the Olympics either.

“The only thing I’ll see of these Olympics is that small flag,” he said, pointing to a garland with Olympic rings hung above his stand.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, left, campaigns with local candidate for the second round of the legislative election Stanislas Guerini, Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at a market in Paris. After France's far-right National Rally surged into the lead in the first round of legislative elections, some European neighbors on Monday cast a wary eye on the latest country to veer to the right on the continent. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, center campaign with local candidate for the second round of the legislative election Stanislas Guerini, right, Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at a market in Paris. After France's far-right National Rally surged into the lead in the first round of legislative elections, some European neighbors on Monday cast a wary eye on the latest country to veer to the right on the continent. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Constructions work takes place at the Concorde olympic venue and the National Assembly, right, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Construction work is seen at the Concorde Olympic venue and the National Assembly, right, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Copies of one of the most famous Greek statues, the Venus of Milo, are installed on the steps of the French National Assembly Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A woman walks past copies of one of the most famous Greek statues, the Venus of Milo, installed on the steps of the French National Assembly, Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. The statues by artist Laurent Perbos, have regained her arms and are now equipped with the attributes of six sporting disciplines. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The logo of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games hangs from the facade of the Paris city hall, behind constructions barriers, Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Construction barriers surround Hotel de Ville square, Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The logo of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games hangs from the facade of the Paris city hall, Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Paris. Just three weeks before the Olympics, the excitement that was building up in the host city has mingled with anxiety about France’s political future. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Nearly three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” Alec Baldwin is going on trial over her death. Here are the essential things to know.

The actor is about to enter a New Mexico courtroom for the first time since the Oct. 21, 2021 shooting. He is charged with felony involuntary manslaughter. If a jury unanimously convicts him, he could get 18 months in prison.

Baldwin, the star and co-producer of the Western, was pointing a revolver at Hutchins during a rehearsal in a small church on the movie set at Bonanza Creek Ranch when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.

Two major themes will predominate, one large, one small: the chaotic atmosphere of the movie set, and the details of the Italian-made classic revolver that Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.

It has never been officially determined who brought the live rounds that killed Hutchins on to the set. Prosecutors at the previous trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed alleged that she was responsible. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to the same 18 months in prison Baldwin faces.

Prosecutors have two alternative standards for proving the charge. One is based on the negligent use of a firearm. The other is proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin acted with total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.

Despite the legal and technical complexities of the case, the 12 citizens of Santa Fe County that will make up the jury will have to reach just one verdict — guilty or not guilty — on a single count.

The trial at the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico — about 20 miles northeast of the movie set and the shooting — is projected to last nine days, and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer insists that she’ll keep the lawyers in line and on schedule. Jury selection begins Tuesday, with opening statements expected Wednesday, and the projected end the following Friday. Once the jurors get the case, however, they can deliberate as long as needed.

Baldwin, 66, emerged as a major movie star in the late 1980s and early ‘90s through films like “Beetlejuice” and “The Hunt for Red October,” and has remained a household name ever since. He would move on to memorable supporting roles in films including 2003’s “The Cooler,” which got him an Oscar nomination. Comedy dominated his later career as he won two Emmys for playing network executive Jack Donaghy on six seasons of “30 Rock,” and won a third for playing Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”

He has also played the role of outsized public personality, as a cherished talk-show guest, a sought-after liberal, and at times as a man unable to control his outbursts of anger, which have brought public embarrassment and a previous run-in with the law much more minor than the current one.

Baldwin is the eldest of six children — five of them actors — from Massapequa, New York, who has lived in New York City for most of his adult life. He has an adult daughter, Ireland Baldwin, with his first wife Kim Basinger, and seven small children with his second wife, Hilaria Baldwin.

Baldwin will bring with him an elite legal team of mostly New York-based attorneys, many of them Harvard Law graduates, from the firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Alex Spiro, a 41-year-old defense attorney who has represented Elon Musk, Megan Thee Stallion and other prominent figures and has become among the most sought-after lawyers in the country, will give aggressive cross-examination to the state's witnesses.

The defense will try to show that it is not the job of an actor to make sure real rounds are not in his gun, a position strongly supported by Baldwin’s union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Baldwin said in an interview with ABC News, and implied in interviews with authorities, that he never pulled the revolver's trigger.

His lawyers will also attack the gun evidence, and the serious damage done to the revolver during an FBI test they say amounted to the destruction of evidence and left the defense no chance to examine it.

Firearms experts for the prosecution who testified at the Gutierrez-Reed trial are returning to the witness stand, over objections by Baldwin, to testify about his handling of the revolver and whether the gun was functioning properly.

And they may press witnesses over whether Hutchins received proper medical treatment between the shooting and the declaration of her death at a hospital.

Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies appointed Kari Morrissey as a special prosecutor in the Baldwin case in early 2023 after her predecessor stepped down because of conflicts of interest. Morrissey promptly had the indictment against Baldwin dismissed, but revived it in January of this year by grand jury. Both moves came from further examination of the evidence, she said.

Morrissey graduated from the University of New Mexico and its law school, and practiced law in Albuquerque for more than 20 years. New Mexico criminal defense attorney Erlinda Johnson joined Morrissey's team in April.

The trial could bring a culture clash between the team of attorneys, as fiery hearings and filings have already shown.

Morrissey and Spiro in particular have butted heads often — “I’m not going to sit here and be called a liar!" — she said during one such moment at a May hearing — and will likely do the same and provide some drama during the proceedings.

The prosecutors will try to convince jurors that as a producer and the most important person on the set, Baldwin brought a recklessness to the production, and that as an actor he was negligent in handling his gun.

The crew members inside the small church building who became eye-witnesses to Hutchins' killing will provide the trial's most essential testimony. They include director Joel Souza, who was himself shot and wounded by the bullet from Baldwin's gun, and assistant director David Halls, the film's assistant director, who some said was responsible for the shooting but pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm.

Zac Sneesby, a crew member who was holding a boom microphone during the rehearsal, will testify that he saw Baldwin pull the trigger of the revolver, prosecutors said in court filings, making him potentially the most important witness of all.

Prosecutors also may call Gutierrez-Reed to the stand, but Marlowe Sommer rejected an immunity deal they wanted to give her.

Jurors will hear testimony from firearms experts who allege the revolver was working properly could not have fired without pulling the trigger.

And Baldwin himself can take the stand in his defense, but he doesn't have to. His attorneys have not said which he will do.

Santa Fe, New Mexico's capital, an arts mecca of 89,000 people and a tourist destination for its historic Southwestern beauty, is no small town. And its downtown modern legal complex is hardly a country courthouse. But the location is still a far cry from the coastal urban courts where the celebrity trials of Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump were held.

The proceedings could make for an unusual scene. Scores of members of the national media will compete for seats in the Santa Fe courtroom and an overflow room, and cameras will surround the courthouse for arrivals and departures.

And the public can watch. The trial will be streamed and broadcast by several outlets including Court TV.

Hutchins, who was 42 when she died, was a cinematographer on the rise and a mother of a young son when she was killed. She grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and embarking on a promising movie-making career.

For more coverage of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/alec-baldwin

FILE - Actor Alec Baldwin attends the premiere of "The Boss Baby" at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on Monday, March 20, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M, Oct. 23, 2021, used for the film "Rust." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Director Joel Souza testifies in the trial against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in state district court in Santa Fe, N.M., on Friday, March 1, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed was working as the armorer on the movie "Rust" when actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded Souza. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool/File)

FILE - Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed stands by her defense team during her involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M. A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter on March 6, 2024, in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western movie "Rust." (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool, File)