Preparing for the Paralympics, Paris reminds residents and visitors that 'game is not over'

PARIS (AP) — With the Olympics behind it, Paris is getting ready for the next big sporting event on the calendar this summer: the Paralympics.

Organizers are taking advantage of the post-Olympics lull in the French capital to get ready for events ranging from wheelchair rugby to para athletics during the Aug. 28-Sept. 8 games.

The Place de la Concorde, the historic square in the heart of Paris, has been bustling with construction activity since the Olympics closed on Aug. 11.

The site, which hosted skateboarding, breaking and 3x3 basketball during the Olympics, will host the opening ceremony for the Paralympics next Wednesday.

Organizers are promising a groundbreaking "spectacle," as thousands of athletes and tens of thousands of spectators gather for the event, which marks the first time the opening ceremony will take place outside a stadium.

Most other Olympic venues will remain in place.

The Château de Versailles will host para equestrian events, the Grand Palais will welcome wheelchair fencing, and the venue beneath the Eiffel Tower, which hosted beach volleyball during the Olympics, will now host blind football, an adaption of soccer for visually impaired players.

For the organizers, the goal for the Paralympics is clear: to keep up the enthusiasm that the Olympics brought to Paris.

“We want to use the same exact recipe,” said Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee. “The Olympics were the first leg of the match, and now comes the second leg with the Paralympics. It will be equally as spectacular.”

Both Paris 2024 and the International Paralympic Committee have launched a campaign titled “Game is not over,” with ads throughout the French capital encouraging locals to come and watch the Paralympic events.

“French fans who missed the chance to see the Olympics live now have a second shot,” said IPC President Andrew Parsons. "Paris will be alive, tickets will be affordable. It’s the perfect show for families.”

In the period between the two sports events, however, Paris has slowed down considerably. August is normally the month when many Parisians go on vacation, and leave the city for coastal towns or the countryside. As a result, the streets are notably quieter, and many businesses, including restaurants, are closed until September.

Some Parisians who have remained in the city are taking advantage of the relative calm to catch their breath after the Olympics.

“I think we all needed a break after cheering so much,” said Alexia Latour, a 27-year-old accountant meeting friends at the Parc Monceau, a park in the upscale 17th arrondissement of Paris. It hosted one of the liveliest fan zones during the Olympics. Now, the buzz has faded, and the fan zone has become a peaceful space for family activities. Instead of live sports, the large screens at the moment show family-friendly movies and concerts.

“We went from 2,500 visitors to fewer than 100 a day, mostly locals,” said Alex Lemaistre, who oversees activities at the fan zone. “Our goal is to keep the Olympic spirit going, but it’s pretty difficult. Now we don’t have French athletes like Léon Marchand to cheer us up.”

Yann Nguyen, 51, who came to the fan zone for an afternoon musical performance, said he wasn't sure Paris would manage to keep the Olympic excitement levels going into the Paralympics.

“I find it a bit odd that they didn’t start the Paralympics right after the Olympics closing ceremony,” Nguyen said. “September is the start of the new school year here. I’m not sure how they will keep the festive atmosphere going.”

Despite the quieter streets, security remains a visible and constant presence. Armed police officers patrol key areas, a reminder of the heightened security measures in place during the Olympics. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin earlier this week said some 25,000 police officers will be deployed during the Paralympics.

Police forces also will be deployed during the Paralympic torch relay — the flame is set to arrive Sunday in France from Stoke Mandeville, a the English village that is widely considered the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.

AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

FILE - Police officers patrol on the Champs-Elysees avenue ahead of the Paralympic Games, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024 in Paris. some 25,000 police officers will be deployed during the Paralympics. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)

FILE - The Olympic cauldron ahead of the Paralympic Games, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Paris. With the Olympics behind it, Paris is getting ready for the next big sporting event on the calendar this summer: the Paralympics. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - A man walks next to the Place de la Concorde, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Paris. With the Olympics behind it, Paris is getting ready for the next big sporting event on the calendar this summer: the Paralympics. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - A police car on the Place de la Concorde ahead of the Paralympic Games, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Paris. With the Olympics behind it, Paris is getting ready for the next big sporting event on the calendar this summer: the Paralympics. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

The Alexandre III bridge which will be used for the Para Triathlon, ahead of the Paralympic Games, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024 in Paris. With the Olympics behind it, Paris is getting ready for the next big sporting event on the calendar this summer: the Paralympics. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the opposition-led parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a snap legislative election six months after he was voted in on an anti-establishment platform.

The new election will take place Nov. 17, Faye said in a televised address Thursday evening in which he asked voters to give his party a mandate so that he can carry out the “systemic transformation that I promised.” Analysts say that Faye’s political party, PASTEF, has a high chance of securing a majority, given his popularity and his margin of victory in the March presidential election.

The Benno Bokk Yaakar opposition platform led by former President Macky Sall condemned the move. They said Faye had convened a legislative session under false pretenses in order to announce the dissolution and accused him of “perjury.”

Faye, 44, won the vote in March to become Africa’s youngest elected leader, less than two weeks after he was released from prison. His rise has reflected widespread frustration among Senegal’s youth with the country’s direction — a common sentiment across Africa, which has the world’s youngest population and a number of leaders accused of clinging to power for decades.

During the presidential campaign, he promised widespread reforms to improve the living standards of ordinary Senegalese, including fighting corruption, reviewing fishing permits for foreign companies, and securing a bigger share from the country’s natural resources for the population. He was elected with 54% of the votes.

But six months later, these pledges have yet to materialize.

Faye and Ousmane Sonko, the country’s prime minister and a popular opposition figure who helped catapult Faye to victory, have blamed the parliament. Their political party, PASTEF, does not hold a majority in the assembly, which Faye says has blocked him from executing the promised reforms.

In June, the opposition coalition canceled a budgetary debate in a dispute over whether Sonko was required to issue his government’s policy roadmap, with Sonko arguing that he was not required to.

The tensions between the government and the parliament are “unprecedented,” Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom think tank, told The Associated Press. “It is all the result of the dysfunctions of the electoral process of the 2024 presidential election,” Tine said.

Faye’s decision to dissolve the national assembly does not come without risks, Gilles Yabi, political analyst and founder of WATHI think tank, told the AP.

The assembly has until the end of December to vote on the budget for next year, but new legislative elections might make it hard to meet this deadline.

The presidential election in April tested Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in West Africa, a region rocked in recent years by coups and attempted coups.

Both Faye and Sonko were released from prison less than two weeks before the vote following a political amnesty announced by outgoing President Macky Sall. Their arrests had sparked months of protests and concerns that Sall would seek a third term in office despite term limits. Rights groups said dozens were killed and about 1,000 were jailed.

Over 60% of Senegalese are under 25, and 90% work in informal jobs. Senegal has been hit by skyrocketing inflation in recent years, making it difficult for them to get by.

The country is also the major source of irregular migration to Europe, with thousands leaving every year on rickety, artisanal fishing boats in search of economic opportunities.

Thursday’s announcement came days after one such boat carrying almost 90 people capsized, killing at least 39.

Associated Press writers Mark Banchereau and Wilson McMakin in Dakar contributed to this report.

FILE - Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye attends a press conference in Dakar, Senegal, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Annie Risemberg, File)