Summer Olympics of limited economic benefit for Paris
This year's Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris will have a limited overall economic impact. DW looks into sectors and regions that benefit nevertheless.
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00:00In 2024, it will shine brighter than ever.
00:03This is how organisers imagine Paris during this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games,
00:09a giant street party with hundreds of thousands of visitors.
00:14Numerous companies have helped pave the way for that, such as start-up Le Pavé,
00:20a business providing sheets of recycled and recyclable plastic,
00:24the raw material for 11,000 seats at two Olympic venues.
00:28We won the order in 2019, just one year on from when our company was founded.
00:35The project was proof for our future clients and investors that we were a credible company.
00:40It kick-started our business and had us increase the number of employees from four to twenty.
00:48Nowadays, the company employs 35 staff and has raised 11.5 million euros of venture capital.
00:55Their plastic panels are also used for flooring, knife handles or sinks,
01:00and for something else at the Olympics.
01:04We'll provide the material for the medal podiums and we take great pride in that.
01:08Everybody will see them and our French and international athletes
01:12will receive their medals on these podiums.
01:15The organisers want the Summer Games to be sustainable and green in the spirit of the times
01:20and to be part of that is a great opportunity.
01:24The company is not the only one to be boosted by the upcoming Games.
01:28But this economist says their overall economic impact will be hardly felt.
01:34About 10 billion euros are being spent to construct the necessary infrastructure
01:39and 130,000 jobs created.
01:42That might seem a lot, but compared to France's GDP of 2,500 billion euros
01:48and the country's overall 30 million jobs, it's really not much.
01:52We've looked at all the Olympic Summer Games since the ones in the South Korean capital of Seoul in 1988
01:58and none of them noticeably boosted the host country's economic growth,
02:02even if certain sectors or regions have benefited.
02:06But even though this year's Games are unlikely to stimulate the French economy's growth significantly,
02:12the entrepreneur is hoping they will initiate a winning streak for the company.
02:17It recently opened a second factory in eastern France.
02:22We aim to open more branches across France and Europe, close to waste disposal sites.
02:32We are trying to invent a new circular model that can be reproduced elsewhere, which we hope it will.
02:42The company is aiming to become the European leader in the sector in 2030
02:47and to contribute to many more Olympic and Paralympic Games in the future.