While some in the French capital are enjoying Olympic fever, others feel excluded from normally accessible sites and resent the disruption to their daily lives.
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00:00This couple has come from the southern city of Toulouse to see the Games and Paris' new
00:06temporary landmark.
00:09The hot air balloon symbolises the Olympic fire in the historic Tuileries Gardens.
00:16The new installation rose to fame during the Games opening ceremony.
00:20The ceremony was so beautiful, we instantly tried to get tickets to see the balloon from
00:26up close.
00:28Mathieu Le Haneur is the designer of the balloon and the Olympic torches which brought
00:33the fire here.
00:34It's a symbol of freedom.
00:37If you ask people to draw a picture of freedom, they would draw a bird, a hot air balloon
00:42or something that flies.
00:44The time slots for a close look at the balloon are already sold out, but several online petitions
00:50are now asking for it to stay on after the Games.
00:54Each evening, the balloon is sent up into the sky, but we don't have time to wait
00:59for this.
01:00I've got other things to show you.
01:03The Olympics are making their mark across the city at iconic places such as the Place
01:08de la Concorde, the Trocadéro and the Eiffel Tower.
01:15Behind these wooden walls, beach volleyballers are giving it their all.
01:20There's no chance for even a sneaky peek though for people like me without a ticket.
01:25And I can't even go to the Champ de Mars, the lawn just over there, to have my traditional
01:31summer picnic.
01:33Taxi drivers meanwhile complain the Olympics are not bringing them gold and are asking
01:38the government for compensation for lost income.
01:41All the Parisians have left the city and the tourists prefer walking.
01:46They don't take taxes.
01:49The River Seine has become a giant swimming pool for the Olympic Triathlon, despite concerns
01:54over high levels of faecal bacteria.
01:57Thanks to the Olympics, there are plans to open permanent swimming zones in the river
02:01next year.
02:03This will be one of those sites, right over there.
02:07But to be honest, I don't think I'm going to hop in if I'm not sure the water is clean
02:13enough.
02:16I might just enjoy watching the swimmers from here.