EXCLUSIVE – Criticized for having announced, almost a year ago, special Olympic pricing, the president of the region and of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is doing the math. She says to herself «particularly proud” of having been “the first” to stand “against the demagoguery of everything free”.
The decision, unpopular and controversial, sparked opposition. At the end of last year, the president of IDFM (Île-de-France Mobilités), Valérie Pécresse, announced that transport prices in the Ile-de-France region would increase significantly during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The metro ticket , in particular, had temporarily increased to 4 euros, and the price of the book had also almost doubled to finance the additional resources deployed, in the heart of summer, to transport the visitors expected for this event.
Immediately, Valérie Pécresse's opponents stepped up to the plate. “Failing to have a long-term vision for public transport in the Ile-de-France region, the regional president and the government want to rebuild their health on the backs of the Olympic Games”scathed Emmanuel Grégoire, then first deputy of Anne Hidalgo. The latter, for her part, affirmed that“there are places where transport will not be ready because there will not be the number of trains and the frequency”.
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This Monday, a little less than a year after announcing the increase in transport prices, Valérie Pécresse responds to criticism, and welcomes the choices made at the time. “The commitment is kept, we leave zero OJ debt”rejoices…
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