French film bodies outline plans to sustain production during Paris Olympics

French film bodies set out plans to prevent film production from being disrupted during the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris.

“Filming activity will be disrupted, but not completely stopped,” said CNC president Dominique Boutonnat, who was joined by other executives from the body, as well as various Paris-based film commissions, at an event attended by representatives for crew, producers and other industry. 

Per our sister site Screen Daily, upwards of 10 million people including athletes, spectators, media and volunteers will attend the Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11) and Paralympics (August 28 – September 8).

“Not surprisingly, July and August will be a complicated couple of months,” admits Michel Gomez, executive director of the city of Paris’ Mission Cinema department. “It will be impossible to imagine shooting a major period film or movie with action sequences during that time.”

The Olympics are being hosted amid what Gomez calls parallel “phenomenons”, an increase in both “period films” that he describes as any projects that involve removing all traces of modern cars, trucks and inhabitants, and “stunt films” with action sequences such as car chases that have already made filming in densely-populated Paris difficult.

This summer, between June, July and August, Paris facilitated over 2,000 hours of shooting alone on film and TV series, including The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and John Woo’s The Killer remake.

Filming will be restricted within the central Olympic site zones from June 16 – September 15, 2024, but during the preparation and dismantling periods of the games, from mid-March through mid-June and mid-September through end of October, selected filming can take place. Projects during the period will be set as either “standard” or “exceptional,” with exceptional shoots comprising such “period or action films”.

“We can still shoot modern films with normal-sized crews this summer in Paris and we are.” He added: “Until the end of June, if we prepare well, if we anticipate, we will be able to film most projects in Paris.”