The Olympics: 26th July – 26th August 2024, Paris
The Paralympics: 26th August – 8th September 2024, Paris
If you are relocating employees to Paris this summer, you can expect to face the following:
Visas and Permits – Delays in visa processing times and residence permit renewals in Paris, at French Consulates and at French Embassies. Applicants are advised to apply 4 months ahead of arrival instead of the usual 3 months.
Temporary Accommodation – A severe shortage of hotel rooms, serviced apartments and short-term rentals – availability being reduced by at least 70% – 80%. Price spikes of 30% – 70%. Fixed and non-refundable cancellation policies.
Long-Term Housing – A shortage of long-term rentals due to landlords serving notice to long-term tenants so that they can rent out their properties at a much higher rate during the Games. Furnished properties will be more heavily impacted than unfurnished ones.
Household Goods – Packing and delivery delays due to access difficulties throughout the Parisian road network, unusually heavy traffic, additional security checks, and Customs delays. Access to certain Parisian addresses will be restricted, unavailable or delayed by anything between a few hours to a few days whilst certain events are taking place in the city. These events include the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the road cycle races, the marathon and other road running events, and the open water swimming in the River Seine.
Travel and Transportation – Partial road closures on Olympic routes, specifically the A1, A4, A6, A10, A11, A13, A15 and A16, all of which are motorways which feed into Paris. In addition, each of these roads will have a dedicated JO Lane, reserved for Games traffic only.
Public transport such as the Métro and the RER being extremely busy. Furthermore, unless you are a long-term resident of Paris, ticket prices will be doubled throughout the course of the Games.
Rental cars being difficult to come by and expensive to hire.
Traffic in central Paris and other Olympic cities – Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille – being much heavier than normal. The A1, which is the main link between Paris and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and the A10, which is the main link between Paris and Orly Airport, will be particularly busy. The A13 will be another traffic hotspot, as it is the main link between Paris and the venues situated just to the west of it, specifically Les Yvelines (cycling events) and Versailles (equestrian events). The final hotspot to be aware of is the A86, which runs past the Olympic Village, the Stade de France, the Aquatics Centre, the Arena in La Defense, Roland Garros (Boulogne Billancourt) and Parc des Princes.
Modes of transport between London and Paris being extremely busy, especially as the start of the Olympics coincides with the school summer holidays in many European countries. The Eurostar and airlines serving Paris will be heavily booked. The Dover-Calais crossing will be extremely busy, so those who are driving across should consider alternative routes such as Newhaven to Dieppe with DFDS, and Portsmouth to Caen/Le Havre/St Malo with Brittany Ferries.
K2 are keeping a close eye on all of the elements detailed above, and will provide further updates as and when they come through. In the meantime, should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your K2 Account Manager.
