Paris gets ready for the 2024 Olympics

The Paris booksellers whose distinctive dark green stalls line three kilometres of the Seine will not have to move during the Olympics.

When the 2024 Games begin on July 26 with all national teams sailing down the Seine on a fleet of 100 boats, this will be the first time that an opening ceremony is held outside the main stadium.

During the early planning stages for the event, police ordered that 600 of the 900 stalls needed to be removed amid concerns they would be ideal for concealing explosive devices.

The bouquinistes (booksellers) immediately complained, comparing the absence of their stalls to “a tooth extraction” while announcing that they intended to take legal action to prevent their removal.

After negotiations failed to find a “consensual and reassuring solution”, France’s president Emmanuel Macron had to intervene, asking the Interior ministry and police to ensure that none of the bookstalls – a feature of Paris and the Seine for 150 years – would be forced to move.

Meanwhile, another Paris emblem will be partially on view as restoration continues on Notre Dame cathedral following the devastating fire of 2019.

The spire should be entirely visible in time for the Olympics, the Etablissement Public, which is attached to the Ministry of Culture confirmed.

“Dismantling the scaffolding has started and will continue over the coming months,” a spokesperson told the AFP news agency.

President Macron had initially pledged that the iconic landmark would be completely restored in time for the Games, but this has been delayed until December 2024 owing to several unexpected setbacks.