Remember all the correspondence, investigations and protests against the Qatari organizers before the last FIFA World Cup? Remember the thousands of deaths and the abusive inhumane treatment of foreign workers who came there to build the infrastructure? The disregard for human dignity and for the value of human life?
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It turns out that the Western world has a much easier time protesting when the injustice is committed in a Third World country or the Gulf monarchies; but when it comes to a country like France, you'll rarely hear of investigations or rallies. However, a lawsuit filed by 10 workers in a labor court in Paris reveals that working conditions in France are not much different from those in Qatar.
According to the lawsuit filed in the Parisian suburb of Bobigny against employers and subcontractors, workers from Congo and Mali were employed for over a year at the Olympic Village in Paris in preparation for the 2024 Olympics with no formal employment contract, paychecks or vacation days.
An employee named Moussa shared that he wrote to his employer stating that he needed two sick days for his knee, which was injured while on the job, to heal. "He told me: 'If you're not there on Monday, you'll take your things and go.' I had to keep working despite the suffering."
"France is no better than Qatar," Mousa wrote.
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Construction is in high gear ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics
(Photo: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
The 10 workers who filed the lawsuit are receiving assistance from professional labor unions in France, and the trial is expected to begin in October. However, both the unions and the exploited workers face a challenge that even justice will struggle to overcome – the companies that won the bid, and the subcontractors working under them, must meet the deadlines of the important political and sports mission.
Whether what they're doing is legal or not doesn't change the fact that the sports facilities and athletes' accommodations must be ready by the summer of 2024, and the Olympics must start on time. This is a one-time chance for France to showcase its capital in such a large-scale event, and an especially important one for the republic during such difficult times.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), whose members met twice in Lausanne this week, received the initial report on the exploitation of workers. When asked if the committee would intervene in cases of rights violations, they failed to give a straightforward answer. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams merely said that an internal investigation will be conducted, and assured that the right people would be involved in examining the situation.