Dancers call off strike threat ahead of Olympic opening ceremony, but tensions remain high

As the world’s attention turns to France for the 2024 Paris Olympics, performers for the opening ceremony called off their strike notice Wednesday, just two days before the Games’ flagship event. 

After negotiations between the SFA-CGT union representing performers, Paris 2024 organizers and Panam 24 (the producers of the opening ceremony) ended in a stalemate and a continued strike notice Tuesday, the union said Wednesday it accepted an offer involving increased pay for performers’ broadcasting rights. 

"This period has closed with a victory, which if not total, at least responds to the emergencies raised," the union said in a statement in French.

Although the union said it was suspending its strike notice, its statement noted a failure to resolve its concern involving the lack of accommodations for performers who reside outside of the Paris metropolitan area. 

“This remains a strong point of tension,” the statement read. 

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The IOC and the SFA-CGT union did not immediately respond to requests from USA TODAY for comment.

The union had announced its strike notice for the Olympic and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies in a statement last week citing pay, benefit and treatment disparities between performers and disputes over intellectual property and image rights as the main causes of its grievances.

"While the slogan ‘Doing better together’ is displayed everywhere in the streets of Paris today, we note that our employment conditions have not been discussed together, nor for the better!” SFA-CGT said in French in last week’s statement. 

One video posted to X showed approximately 200 performers standing on the bank of the Seine with their fists raised in protest Monday during rehearsals. The Olympic opening ceremony will be held Friday on the Seine, marking the first time the ceremony will be held outside a stadium in modern Olympic history.

The union initially raised its concerns in a June 7 statement, saying dancers had alerted it to contract conditions that they alleged broke the social charter signed by Paris 2024 organizers. A second statement released last week by the union said it was referred to the Olympic Social Charter Committee and it had held prior negotiations with Paris 2024 and Paname 24 on July 3 and 9. 

Before Wednesday’s agreement, tensions peaked Tuesday when the entertainment union federation to which SFA-CGT is affiliated announced it planned to maintain its strike notice after negotiations on Tuesday failed to reach a strike-ending agreement. 

The entertainment union federation created an online fund Tuesday to financially support any performers who chose to strike. 

"While the Olympic Games are heralded a great celebration, it has a bitter taste for all those artists who feel scorned and little considered,” the statement attached to the fundraiser read in French.  

Although this dispute reached an agreement, ongoing strike notices from other sectors, including Paris airport workers and taxi drivers, continue to raise concerns for a country known for its labor strikes as the opening ceremony draws closer.