“This is a video for anyone coming to the 2024 Paris Olympics,” a woman says in a clip posted on TikTok. He pauses a little, then continues, “Don’t come. Cancel everything.”
The video, which was uploaded in November, now has more than 700,000 views.
The creator, Miranda Starcevic, is a 31-year-old French-American living in Paris. She usually records herself speaking French, but she thought a message about the Olympics would reach more people if it was in English.
And Ms. Starcevic wanted her viewers to know that from her perspective, for French citizens who “are kind of middle class,” as she put it: “No one wants the Olympics. It’s just a hot mess.”
As a visual first international platform with many new users, TikTok is full of Olympic content. But in addition to the beautiful windows into the athletes’ lives and promotional videos from organizers and sponsors, there are also unfiltered clips from Parisians warning potential visitors that the city may not be at its best during the Games.
A 24-year-old Parisian student whose display name is Leo Nora has posted several short clips about the Paris Games, declaring they will be “dangerous” and “hell on Earth”.
In one of her videos she says to the camera: “If you plan to come to Paris for the Olympics, why? Do not come. Don’t come!” The clip has been viewed over a million times.
“I lived in Paris all my life,” Leo Nora said in an interview. “I’ve been to really big events in Paris. What prompted me to talk about it is that I know how it can go right — and how it can go wrong.”
She and Ms. Starcevic had similar reasons for encouraging people to avoid the Games. Both said they were unhappy that the city asked students to vacate their student housing so the accommodations could be used for workers during the Games. Both expressed frustration and fears about the transfer.
Organizers and government officials are concerned about transport worker strikes during the Games, as well as more serious issues such as terrorism. A number of authors have posted about Paris’ rampant tourist scams, pickpockets and recent hotel price hikes. People on TikTok also warned that there could be serious overcrowding on trains.
“It’s not uncommon for people to pass out” on the subway, Leo Nora said. When someone passes out, “the line stops, which causes delays,” he said.
Tessa Bicard, an executive at a cosmetics company whose TikTok is Madame Tartempion, posted a video titled “The Olympics will be a nightmare for Paris.” It has garnered more than 750,000 views and hundreds of comments.
Ms. Bicard, who is originally from Northern California and has lived in Paris for more than 12 years, said in an interview that she was actually a big fan of the Olympics.
“I’ve watched them every year since I was a kid,” he said. “I really like swimming — and women’s gymnastics, of course.” But, he said, “This is the least excited I’ve ever been about the Olympics.”
Mainly, he said, because he doesn’t have tickets. “They are very expensive or impossible to obtain,” he said. He also pointed out that all the different construction projects for the Games have already made everyday life difficult. The expected influx of millions of Olympic visitors, he fears, will only make matters worse. “My bus ride was absolute chaos.”
As an American living in Paris, Ms. Bicard said she often used her TikTok account to answer questions about the city, in addition to fun tips like “how to spot an American in Paris.”
Americans ask: “Where is the best place to live? What is the best neighborhood? Do you have a favorite restaurant? All these things,” he said. He answers as many as he can. “There’s a certain aspect of, ‘I feel like I can trust you because you speak with an American accent,'” she said.
When it comes to the Games, Ms. Bicard’s view is a little softer than that of more vocal Olympic fans like Leo Nora and Ms. Starcevic.
“If you’re going to be here for the Olympics, hopefully this is not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Paris,” he said, adding that he expects it to be a logistical challenge. “I think it’s going to be very difficult and not very pleasant to try to do any of these ‘Paris’ things,” he said.
And like Ms Starcevic and Leo Nora – and most Parisians – Ms Bicard said she expected the metro to be “absolute chaos” when the Games begin. Already, he said, there are posters and billboards across the city encouraging residents to look forward to the Games. Many see it as “coded language” hinting at what many people are already thinking: “Leave the city if you can — or if you can afford it.”
Leo Nora, who usually posts about feminist and racial issues on TikTok, does not plan to be in Paris during the Games. her boyfriend lives out of town and she will stay with him. “I get nervous in crowds,” she said. “I don’t want to be the person who passes out and ruins it for everyone.”
Ms Starcevic, who owns a sustainable online fashion brand, booked months ago to spend a few days with a friend in Biarritz and a few days in the south of France in order to be out of town during the Games. “I’m lucky enough to be able to go,” she said, “But most people don’t have my privilege.”
Mrs. Bicard, however, says she will stay. He plans to bike or walk to work instead of taking the subway. And he expects one of two things to happen, he said. “It’s either going to be an absolute chaotic mess,” she said, or surprisingly calm.
Either way, she shrugged, “Paris is my home. I love it.” And he doesn’t raise an eyebrow at the rage that other people in town seem to have.
“I’m married to a Parisian,” she said, “so I can also say, with relative authority, that Parisians aren’t always the easiest people to deal with.”
