Construction work in Versailles halted due to safety risks

PARIS :Safety inspectors have halted some of the construction work on the temporary stands in Versailles for the equestrian events during this year's Olympics in Paris as there is a risk of employees falling.

French newspaper L'Equipe quoted those inspectors saying there was a serious and imminent danger of workers tumbling from a height of up to 20 metres due to a lack of necessary safety devices.

According to L'Equipe, GL Events, the builder of the stands, claims the works have not been halted but merely reorganised, adding the deadline would be met.

"These temporary stoppages concerned only certain operations, allowing work to continue without impacting on the Paris 2024 assembly schedule," Paris 2024 told Reuters.

"These temporary stoppage procedures are extremely common on construction sites, and are fully integrated into operations schedules. Paris 2024 and GL Events have cooperated fully with the Labour Inspectorate to provide answers to all the questions raised with the highest possible level of precision."

The Games begin on July 26 and the equestrian events start the following day.