Paris is basking in an Olympics induced glow-up. With the Games en ville – that’s in town, for any non-French speakers – the authorities have injected some serious funds into their capital. Most visible has been cleaning up the river Seine – so that now, unlike the murky Thames, it’s now safe to swim in. (Well, nearly – the triathlon did have to be slightly delayed.)
But that’s not all that’s new in Paris. £35bn has also been spent on the Grand Paris Express, connecting 120 miles of new Métro lines between the suburbs. They’ve also upgraded the Grand Palais on the Champs-Élysées, built a new arena and aquatic centre, and created an Olympic village in the northern quarter of Saint-Denis – 30% of which will join the region’s public housing stock when all the medals have been handed out.
