International
Paralympics tickets popular with Parisians who snubbed the Olympics
PARIS — Parisians are the main buyers of tickets for the Paralympic Games, organisers said, rushing to grab a second opportunity to see competitions in some of the Games' spectacular venues, after many chose to snub the Olympics or missed out on tick
In July, Parisians had left the city in droves ahead of the Olympics, with entire neighbourhoods turned eerily quiet as residents decamped as they feared the disturbance and traffic problems many thought the Games would bring.
But the Games turned out to be a global success. The Paralympics will allow them to see Olympic sports in the same venues, including at the feet of the Eiffel Tower or in the gardens of the Versailles castle outside Paris.
Organisers said that of the more than 1.75 million tickets already sold ahead of the Aug 28 start of the Paralympics, 92 per cent came from French buyers, with buyers from the Ile-de-France region around Paris taking the lion's share of 73 per cent.
Parisian Mathieu Bucella is set to boost these numbers a little further.
