عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Eiffel Tower Loses Sparkle for Parisians ahead of Olympics

Parisian landmark The Eiffel Tower has lost its lustre for many who live near it due to crime and grime © Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP
Parisian landmark The Eiffel Tower has lost its lustre for many who live near it due to crime and grime © Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP
TT
TT

Eiffel Tower Loses Sparkle for Parisians ahead of Olympics

Parisian landmark The Eiffel Tower has lost its lustre for many who live near it due to crime and grime © Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP
Parisian landmark The Eiffel Tower has lost its lustre for many who live near it due to crime and grime © Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP

The Eiffel Tower is set for a starring role during the Paris Olympics this year, but the landmark and its park have become symbols of the capital's struggles with cleanliness and crime.
In the shadow of the 330-meter (1,082-foot) monument, workers are already building the temporary stadium that will host the beach volleyball during the Games, which start on July 26, AFP said.
The opening ceremony along the river Seine will also finish in front of the attraction, while judo and wrestling will take place in a semi-permanent exhibition space at the far end of its park.
Although the sport will look spectacular in the TV coverage, behind the scenes the area has become a lightning rod for complaints about the management of public space in the capital and the pressures of mass tourism.
"It's very dirty and it's getting worse and worse," local resident Frederic Mabilon, 78, told AFP as she walked her dog in the Champ-de-Mars park beneath the iron monument known as the "Iron Lady".
Mabilon remembers visiting the area as a child, enjoying the merry-go-rounds and play areas that have been closed ahead of the Olympics -- much to the anger of their operators.
"Look there," she said, pointing to a man urinating on the fence of one of the homes that line the park. "It happens all the time. There aren't enough toilets."
Mikael Dalle, a 53-year-old local out with his son, said he was bothered by the illegal hawkers who shout out to passers-by, offering unlicensed food and drinks, trinkets and berets.
"It's definitely got worse and we've lived around here for the last eight years," he said.
- Street crime -
Around seven million people ascend the Eiffel Tower each year and many more pose for photos, eat picnics, or play ball games in the Champ-de-Mars.
With so many visitors, the park's lawns are often rubbed bare, while at night they are left strewn with rubbish by revelers.
"You should see it at 6 o'clock in the morning. It's catastrophic," complained another local dog walker, Louis, 53, who preferred not to give his surname.
Left-over food and overflowing bins are a delight for the flourishing local rat population.
And while low-level street crime such as pick-pocketing and scams have long been a feature of Paris's tourist hotspots, two alleged rapes took place on the Champ-de-Mars at night last year, shocking locals.
"I've told my eldest daughter not to walk through here in the dark," Louis explained.
The right-wing opponents of Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo blame her for the problems, with local senator Agnes Evren claiming the area has turned into "the far-west".
Even the tower's workers are unhappy, launching a five-day strike in February to protest against its state of disrepair and demanding the city spend more on painting and anti-rust protection.
- 'Paris will shine' -
Hidalgo, an eco-minded left-winger re-elected for a second term in 2020, is admired by many for her policies to restrict cars and promote cycling.
But she has also been dogged by complaints about cleanliness, with a survey in 2021 suggesting eight out of ten Parisians found their city "dirty".
An online campaign in 2021 called #saccageParis (#TrashedParis), in which residents shared pictures of filth or ugliness, struck a chord in a city that prides itself on its elegance.
To tackle the security problems, police announced a major operation for the Eiffel Tower area last June, leading to several dozen police officers on the ground per day.
"We've had excellent results in this area as well as other tourist zones in Paris," Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told AFP last week.
"But we need to continue. The Olympics are coming," he added.
The number of reported physical assaults fell by 58 percent to 21 incidents in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period of 2023, while property crimes were down 18 percent, he said.
Much of the Champ-de-Mars now stands behind steel fencing, its protected lawns growing back, its gardeners busy preparing it for hundreds of thousands of foreign sports fans.
"Paris will shine, Paris will be beautiful, Paris will be ready to welcome the world," deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire promised last week.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Japan Wants Hardworking Citizens to Try 4-day Workweek

FILE - Commuters walk in a passageway during a rush hour at Shinagawa Station, Feb. 14, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - Commuters walk in a passageway during a rush hour at Shinagawa Station, Feb. 14, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
TT
TT

Japan Wants Hardworking Citizens to Try 4-day Workweek

FILE - Commuters walk in a passageway during a rush hour at Shinagawa Station, Feb. 14, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - Commuters walk in a passageway during a rush hour at Shinagawa Station, Feb. 14, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Japan, a nation so hardworking its language has a term for literally working oneself to death, is trying to address a worrisome labor shortage by coaxing more people and companies to adopt four-day workweeks, The Associated Press reported on Saturday.
The Japanese government first expressed support for a shorter working week in 2021, after lawmakers endorsed the idea. The concept has been slow to catch on, however; about 8% of companies in Japan allow employees to take three or more days off per week, while 7% give their workers the legally mandated one day off, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Hoping to produce more takers, especially among small and medium-sized businesses, the government launched a “work style reform” campaign that promotes shorter hours and other flexible arrangements along with overtime limits and paid annual leave. The labor ministry recently started offering free consulting, grants and a growing library of success stories as further motivation.
“By realizing a society in which workers can choose from a variety of working styles based on their circumstances, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution and enable each and every worker to have a better outlook for the future,” states a ministry website about the “hatarakikata kaikaku” campaign, which translates to “innovating how we work.”
The department overseeing the new support services for businesses says only three companies have come forward so far to request advice on making changes, relevant regulations and available subsidies, illustrating the challenges the initiative faces.
Perhaps more telling: of the 63,000 Panasonic Holdings Corp. employees who are eligible for four-day schedules at the electronics maker and its group companies in Japan, only 150 employees have opted to take them, according to Yohei Mori, who oversees the initiative at one Panasonic company.
The government's official backing of a better work-life balance represents a marked change in Japan, a country whose reputed culture of workaholic stoicism often got credited for the national recovery and stellar economic growth after World War II.
Conformist pressures to sacrifice for one's company are intense. Citizens typically take vacations at the same time of year as their colleagues — during the Bon holidays in the summer and around New Year’s — so co-workers can't accuse them of being neglectful or uncaring.
Long hours are the norm. Although 85% of employers report giving their workers two days off a week and there are legal restrictions on overtime hours, which are negotiated with labor unions and detailed in contracts. But some Japanese do “service overtime,” meaning it’s unreported and performed without compensation.
A recent government white paper on “karoshi,” the Japanese term that in English means "death from overwork, said Japan has at least 54 such fatalities a year, including from heart attacks.
Japan’s “serious, conscientious and hard-working” people tend to value their relationships with their colleagues and form a bond with their companies, and Japanese TV shows and manga comics often focus on the workplace, said Tim Craig, the author of a book called “Cool Japan: Case Studies from Japan’s Cultural and Creative Industries.”
“Work is a big deal here. It’s not just a way to make money, although it is that, too,” said Craig, who previously taught at Doshisha Business School and founded editing and translation firm BlueSky Academic Services.
Some officials consider changing that mindset as crucial to maintaining a viable workforce amid Japan's nosediving birth rate. At the current rate, which is partly attributed to the country's job-focused culture, the working age population is expected to decline 40% to 45 million people in 2065, from the current 74 million, according to government data.
Proponents of the three-days-off model say it encourages people raising children, those caring for older relatives, retirees living on pensions and others looking for flexibility or additional income to remain in the workforce for longer.
Akiko Yokohama, who works at Spelldata, a small Tokyo-based technology company that allows employees to work a four-day schedule, takes Wednesdays off along with Saturdays and Sundays. The extra day off allows her to get her hair done, attend other appointments or go shopping.
“It’s hard when you aren’t feeling well to keep going for five days in a row. The rest allows you to recover or go see the doctor. Emotionally, it’s less stressful,” Yokohama said.
Her husband, a real estate broker, also gets Wednesdays off but works weekends, which is common in his industry. Yokohama said that allows the couple to go on midweek family outings with their elementary-school age child.
Fast Retailing Co., the Japanese company that owns Uniqlo, Theory, J Brand and other clothing brands, pharmaceutical company Shionogi & Co., and electronics companies Ricoh Co. and Hitachi also began offering a four-day workweek in recent years.
The trend even has gained traction in the notoriously consuming finance industry. Brokerage SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. started letting workers put in four days a week in 2020. Banking giant Mizuho Financial Group offers a three-day schedule option.
Critics of the government's push say that in practice, people put on four-day schedules often end up working just as hard for less pay.
But there are signs of change.
A annual Gallup survey that measures employee engagement ranked Japan as having among the least engaged workers of all nationalities surveyed; in the most recent survey, only 6% of the Japanese respondents described themselves as engaged at work compared to the global average of 23%.
That means relatively few Japanese workers felt highly involved in their workplace and enthusiastic about their work, while most were putting in their hours without investing passion or energy.
Kanako Ogino, president of Tokyo-based NS Group, thinks offering flexible hours is a must for filling jobs in the service industry, where women comprise most of the work force. The company, which operates karaoke venues and hotels, offers 30 different scheduling patterns, including a four-day workweek, but also taking long periods off in between work.
To ensure none of the NS Group's workers feel penalized for choosing an alternative schedule, Ogino asks each of her 4,000 employees twice a year how they want to work. Asserting individual needs can be frowned upon in Japan, where you are expected to sacrifice for the common good.
“The view in Japan was: You are cool the more hours you work, putting in free overtime,” Ogino said with a laugh. “But there is no dream in such a life.”