PARIS — For athletes and audiences, these have been the Olympics when raucous crowds have roared once again following years of lockdown restrictions.
But outside the din of the stadiums, it’s impossible to ignore that Paris is relatively quiet.
The International Olympic Committee promises that hosting the Games “generates powerful economic benefits.” And Paris 2024 has vowed that tourism, hotel and catering sectors “will benefit first and foremost from the influx of visitors.”
This does not appear to have happened.
Business is significantly down for shops, restaurants and cafés, according to trade data and dozens of interviews by NBC News. Taxi drivers sit idle at their ranks, some blaming the Olympics for driving away fares. Major streets and attractions are remarkably calm — and even the “Mona Lisa” is less mobbed than usual.
