Parisian Balconies (and their Occupants) Threatened by Olympics Opening Ceremony?

...plus, a new library dedicated to James Baldwin to open in Paris, & the Eiffel Tower gets festive rings

Dear Subscribers,

In the seemingly endless run-up to the Summer Olympics in Paris, newsfeeds are overcrowded with stories about the Games: ones that reveal both the excitement and the chaos generated by their imminent start date. One such story has stuck with me this week, despite initially seeming to be a trivial bit pushed out by editors on a slow news day.

According to local newspaper Le Parisien, the Opening Ceremony scheduled to take place on the evening of July 26th poses a security risk that hasn't been properly addressed until now. The worry is that apartment balconies might collapse under the weight of too many spectators hoping to get a glimpse of the show unfolding below on the Seine river.