The Tokyo Olympics are barely over when all eyes are already on Paris.

And in particular towards Seine-Saint-Denis, which will be the nerve center of the event, on which the inhabitants rely a lot to breathe new life into the department.

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It will be one of the strategic areas for the organization of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. It is in fact in Seine-Saint-Denis that the main infrastructures will be built, starting with the athletes' village.

And if the work has already started, it will now be necessary to support it for another three long years.

But despite the heady noise that hovers throughout the Saint-Denis district, the heart of this XXL construction site, the prospect of the Games still thrills the majority of residents. 

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This is the case of Camille, who is impatiently awaiting the event.

"It's nice, I especially hope that we can have places. I do not know how much it costs?" Asks the young woman.

For their part, Farid, Yohan and Yacoub live in the residence which adjoins the backhoe loaders and dump trucks.

Their apartment overlooks the athletes' village which is emerging from the ground.

"I'm finally going to see people I used to see on TV. Living here makes us feel good, there are lots of new buildings, it's brand new," explains one of them.

"It makes the inhabitants proud and it will give a different image of neighborhood youth," said another. 

"An accelerator of transformations"

An opinion shared by Stéphane Troussel, president of the department and guest of Europe 1, Tuesday, for whom these Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a real turning point.

"Seine-Saint-Denis comes at a pivotal moment in its history. It had a first transformation 20 years ago with the Stade de France and now it's a second step," he said, taking for example, the burying of high voltage lines, the construction of a noise barrier or the multiplication of activities and businesses.

"It will be an accelerator of the transformations of Seine-Saint-Denis," he says.

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Beyond the symbol, many infrastructures should also remain in the department, according to the project of the organizing committee: hundreds of housing units, tens of thousands of square meters of offices and even an Olympic swimming pool a few steps away. .

"There are a lot of children who cannot swim here and that will make it possible to create infrastructures for playing sports", rejoices Mounir Mehloul, resident of the district and at the origin of the Dessine moi 2024 association.

Objective of job creation

But if he is enthusiastic, the latter is still wary of the promises made, especially about the 150,000 jobs announced within three years.

"In this application, we have bet a lot on employment for the 93. We must respect these commitments and that we do not necessarily call on foreign labor to go faster," he calls .

Commitments that raise a lot of hope according to him, in a department where 28% of young people are unemployed. 

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For Stéphane Troussel, the objective seems the same: employment "before, during and after the Games". "We are demanding from the Olympic equipment delivery company to obtain with it that 10% of the hours worked are in integration or that 25% of the contracts are intended for VSEs and SMEs to have outlets for local companies", he explained. The president of the department also relies on ticketing, organization, events and security during the Games to create jobs. 

"It can change the look, the attractiveness of the territory, and encourage more companies to set up in Seine-Saint-Denis", concludes the political leader, recalling in addition that a third of the new stations of the Grand metro Paris Express will pass through the department.