The Olympic games have finally come to a close — here are our takeaways

1. Sabotage by arson

The action by a still unknown group of saboteurs was truly the gift that keeps on giving. On opening night, as the world looked to Paris for the opening ceremony of the Olympics it wasn’t the olympic torch that was catching our eye but the coordinated fire-bombing of signal boxes affecting three of France’s major national lines. This sabotage, that affected over 800,000 passengers, was followed by immediate calls by French politicians and executives for the capture of the “bunch of crazy, irresponsible people”. Initially, it seemed a saboteur had been caught, at least according to the French Minister of the Interior and right wing newspaper the Figaro. Unfortunately for them this “ultra-left militant” turned out to be a graffiti artist, with the unfortunate coincidence of having a book for his sociology course in his car when he was caught. Having seemingly exhausted all options, the French Police have now asked the FBI for help investigating the “unexpected delegation” that emailed major newspapers regarding the sabotage, though they did not claim responsibility explicitly.

2. Insurrectionary art

In an olympics saturated by the sponsorship of advertisers, it was a breath of fresh air to see their grand adverts retaken by protest art throughout Paris. From Nike’s partnership with the Centre Pompidou to highlighting the sports washing of big polluters, no advertisement was safe from rebranding by Paris’s street artists.

3. Celebration of Palestinian athletes

France may not recognise a Palestinian state, but Palestinian athletes were given a rapturous welcome at the olympics by French crowds. Those who competed were greeted by Palestinian flags flying throughout the games, an act that was illegal in France for months after October 7th.

4. Louise Michel ‘honoured’

Louise Michel, leading light of the Paris Commune and noted Anarchist and Feminist was “honoured” at the olympic ceremony among ten other French women. Michel, who famously declared “If you are not cowards kill me” to the French government after the commune’s fall, was exiled to New Caledonia for years. She was not alone among the revolutionary imagery of the Olympic opening ceremony which included renditions of “Ça ira”, a famous song from the French Revolution, and whose performances included a singing beheaded Marie Antoinette. It goes without saying that a gold statue this revolutionary icon did not redeem the olympics from the injustices committed against the very people she spent her life fighting for.

5. Sabotage of fibre optic cables

Days after the sabotage of the railways, anti-Olympics activists followed up with an attack on fibre-optic cables affecting six departments in France. This provoked a second media frenzy and speculation around what the “ultra-left” would attempt next. Despite the intense media speculation and reinforced police, the inability of the French state to counter or capture these seemingly small and independent groups of activists has shown the limitations of the security state against attacks of this kind.

6. Algerian delegation throw roses in the seine

Much as successive French governments have been intent to forget their colonial past, Algerian athletes refused to allow the Olympics to past without protest against their former coloniser. Algerian athletes threw roses into the Seine during the Olympic opening ceremony to honour the around 100 Algerian protesters who were killed by French Police as they protested for Algerian independence in 1961. The action was symbolically poignant as the massacre involved throwing of protesters into the Seine.

7. Protests against Israel

Another group who were not allowed to forget past crimes was the Israeli delegation to the Olympics this year. Even before the opening ceremony, protests began during the Israel-Mali football match in which stadium goers with Palestinian flags and banners showed their solidarity. The fact that Russia has been banned from competing while Israel has not has remained a subject of controversy throughout the olympics, with spectators continuing to highlight it throughout.

8. Dancers union win

Facing “shameful conditions, without compensation, or without knowing the amount of the transfer of neighboring rights” of 300 dancers of the 3,000 in the opening ceremony, the SFA-CGT union filed for a strike on the 23rd of July which would have come into effect during the opening ceremony on the 26th. Refusing to participate in the practice run on the 23rd, they instead raised their fists in the air in solidarity with the most precarious dancers. The strike did not last long, with the company producing the games offering to accept many of their demands the next day, resulting in the strike being called off in victory.

9. The Seine was never cleaned

In a monumental display of governmental hubris the Seine river, which was used for the Olympic triathlon, was likely never successfully cleaned. The project to clean the Seine, endorsed wholeheartedly by French President Emmanuel Macron, not only cost £1.2 billion but failed to curb the “E. coli and intestinal Enterococcus bacteria in the water” which “surpassed recommended levels.” This may have resulted in illnesses among many athletes who have recently fallen ill with intestinal complaints. Unfortunately, Macron himself broke his promise to swim in the river on the 23rd of Juy, preventing the “I will poo in the Seine” website from ever being used for its intended purpose.

10. A message of hope for the future of the olympics

From the hike in surveillance to the social cleansing of undesirables these olympics have shown our stage of capitalism at its worst: callous, securitised, and tailored to the desires of a wealthy elite. Yet in protests throughout the Olympics as well as the genuine determination of athletes themselves, there have been moments where an alternative vision for sport and competition have shone through. As in the “People’s Olympics” of 1936 that emerged as an alternative to the Olympics in Nazi Germany, some athletes have called for an olympics untied from political regimes and personal egos. As Hugo Hay, a finalist in the 5000m said of Macron: “I would like to tell him that these are not his games, but those of the athletes themselves.”

~ Gabriel Fonten