The owners of Le Carrefour Pleyel couldn’t believe their luck when they learned the Olympics was coming to their neighbourhood.
Located in the unfashionable Paris suburb of Saint-Denis the little bar has a loyal clientele but isn’t typically bothered by hordes of tourists.
However, when the organisers of the global extravaganza decided the athletes’ village would be constructed just around the corner, Le Carrefour Pleyel dared to dream that the event might provide a windfall.
As luck would have it the bar was not only perched on the edge of the accommodation housing thousands of competitors it was positioned literally to the left of one of the main exits.
Smiling barmaid Lella Asmaa was happy to report athletes from around the world have already descended on the venue.
“The coach of the Romanian judo team comes in for coffee every morning,” she told the Express.
“He is a really nice man, always friendly to staff and customers. We’ve had lots of athletes and their coaches visit already.”
When the Express visited the bar at around 11am it was relatively quiet, men in tracksuits sat sipping espressos while their colourful Olympic Games lanyards hung round their necks.
However, the night before it had been a raucous scene as the USA rugby team celebrated the end of their participation in the competition with a late-night drinking session.
“They were here until 1am,” Asmaa added. “They wanted to stay longer but I explained we have to close the doors.
“They were in a really good mood and drinking lots of beers.”
The bar’s chef showed off a selfie with one of the players while Asmaa proudly wore a USA Olympic team badge gifted to her by one of the team.
As the party in Paris continues Asmaa is expecting many more athletes to make the short trip from the athletes’ village to blow off steam following once their events conclude.
“It’s empty now,” she said with a theatrical gesture to the till. “But by the end, I hope it will be full.”
Although businesses like Le Carrefour Pleyel are experiencing a boom thanks to the Games in other districts of Saint-Denis, which plays host to both the athletes’ village and the athletics stadium, locals are ambivalent towards the event.
The area has a notorious reputation for crime and tourists were warned by locals if they strayed from the main streets they risked becoming a victim.
Some residents felt they were being deliberately excluded from the Olympics as an army of police officers was deployed to Saint-Denis for the Games. Their movements were also limited thanks to a series of so-called red zones which could not be passed without an official QR code.
Young men in particular were unhappy with the large police presence and their heavy-handed approach.
On one large housing estate young men claimed to be “at war” with the police who they “hated” and blamed for the deaths of several young men.
