Paris prepares for 100-day countdown to Olympics, aiming to reignite passion for the Games

Former LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sounds the alarm on staff shortages and security concerns for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.

In Paris' outskirts, a bright-eyed young girl is eager for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to end.

That's because the swimming club where 10-year-old Lyla Kebbi trains will inherit an Olympic pool. It will be dismantled after the Games and trucked from the Olympic race venue in Paris' high-rise business district to Sevran, a Paris-area town with less glitter and wealth. There, the pieces will be bolted back together and — voila ! — Kebbi and her swim team will have a new Olympic-sized pool to splash around in.

"It’s incredible !" she says. "I hope it’s going to bring us luck," adds her mother, Nora.

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In 100 days as of Wednesday, the Paris Olympics will kick off with a wildly ambitious waterborne opening ceremony. But the first Games in a century in France’s capital won't be judged for spectacle alone. Another yardstick will be their impact on disadvantaged Paris suburbs, away from the city-center landmarks that are hosting much of the action.

Stands are seen under construction on the Champ-de-Mars with the Eiffel Tower on April 15, 2024, in Paris. April 17 marks the 100-day countdown to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

By promising socially positive and also less polluting and less wasteful Olympics, the city synonymous with romance is also setting itself the high bar of making future Games generally more desirable.

Critics question their value for a world grappling with climate warming and other emergencies. Potential host cities became so