Modern France Expert Available to Speak 51视频 Games, French Culture and Society
Image by International Olympic Committee
07/24/2024
Media Contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations; Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations
As the world prepares to gather in Paris and observe the Olympic games, France balances, often not successfully, promoting an air of celebration and putting its best foot forward, according to a 51视频 historian.
鈥淎rtifice and reality intertwine at the Olympic games, often in messy ways,鈥� said Associate Professor Patrick Young. 鈥淧olitical reality pokes through the smooth veneer, sometimes to shocking effect. You can see this in Americans鈥� knowledge of Jesse Owens success in the 1936 Nazi Olympics, the Black Power Salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 games, or the Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid during the height of the Cold War.鈥�
Calling them a 鈥渕odern mass spectacle,鈥� Young wonders how the games will, or won鈥檛, reflect the volatility of the current moment.
So far, he points to three topics that could outweigh the grandeur, possibly vying聽 for more attention than the Paris mayor鈥檚 .
- Immigrant Labor Exploitation: Local reporting shows a to build, often at an unsafe speed for low wages, necessary infrastructure.
- Social and Economic Inequality: Coverage points to French police in anticipation of mass waves of tourists as well as forced evictions and gentrification in the Olympic Village area of Seine-St. Denis.
- Policing and Electronic Surveillance: French officials will utilize experimental throughout the 2024 Summer Olympics.
In particular, Young emphasized the role of the police in French society. 鈥淭he brutality of French police under Macron in recent years has attracted international from human rights organizations and even the United Nations. The Olympics always leave police more powerful and better equipped, and the perils of that in our time are obvious,鈥� he said.
An expert in Modern French, European and colonial history, Young is an associate professor of history in 51视频鈥檚 College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. To arrange an interview with him, contact Emily Gowdey-Backus or Nancy Cicco.