Red, blue, or green - the fans are hard to miss. First, green sports jerseys dominated the streets of Bordeaux, and the next day, it was red. Thousands of Irish and Welsh fans traveled to the city in southwestern France to watch their rugby national teams play against Romania and the Fiji Islands. Bordeaux is one of the nine host cities of the Rugby World Cup, which is taking place in France until October 28th.

For the second-largest economy in the Eurozone, the Rugby World Cup serves as a kind of stress test for the Summer Olympics next year. After all, 2.5 million spectators, including 600,000 from abroad, are expected to attend the 48 matches featuring 20 participating countries. France must now prove that it is ready for this mega-event, with its tourism, transportation, and security industries are adequately prepared.

The Rugby World Cup serves as a smaller-scale rehearsal for the Olympics, according to Gérard Lacroix, the Deputy General Delegate for Security at the French Defense and Security Industry Association, Gicat. "The Olympics have a completely different dimension." It is expected to host 11,000 athletes, 206 delegations, and two billion television viewers, along with 15 to 16 million tourists in Paris alone.

Unlike some Olympic host cities, the cities hosting the Rugby World Cup matches have experience with major sporting events, especially rugby and its fans. Rugby, though not as widely recognized in some regions, is extremely popular in France, mainly in the south and southwest.

"Rugby is the second-most-watched sport on television in France after football," observes Bertrand Nadeau, General Director of Omnicrom Media Group. Thanks to its positive image, rugby is also popular among many corporate leaders and politicians. For a long time, it was even considered somewhat elitist, a sport for graduates of prestigious universities.

"Football is a sport played by ruffians for gentlemen, while rugby is a sport played by gentlemen for ruffians," goes a frequently cited British saying in France. Rugby fans are relatively well-educated, notes security expert Lacroix. The atmosphere at games is family-friendly and polite.

Nevertheless, the Rugby World Cup poses significant challenges for the security industry. The French government has allocated an additional 1 million euros to increase the number of surveillance cameras in the Seine-Saint-Denis department north of Paris, home to the Stade de France, where the semi-finals and finals will be held.

Specific precautions have been taken for all nine host cities, tailored to the security profile of each match. A few days ago, four Irish police officers traveled to Bordeaux to assist their French counterparts. On average, according to the Ministry of the Interior, 5,100 police and gendarmes will be mobilized for the Rugby World Cup, with up to 7,500 for important matches.

In addition, 5,000 to 6,000 private security personnel will be deployed, less than a quarter of what will be required for the Olympics. "We were able to easily contract private security firms to secure the necessary personnel," says Julien Colette, CEO of the France 2023 organizing committee.

Border control at airports has also been increased for the Rugby World Cup. ADP (Aéroports de Paris), the operator of Charles de Gaulle-Roissy and Orly airports in Paris, has allocated an additional 270 border police officers to help reduce wait times at passport controls.

Ryanair and Air Lingus are offering additional flights to the host cities during the Rugby World Cup. Within France, organizers are relying on the SNCF railway company to transport not only fans but also teams, support staff, and equipment between venues.

After the Rugby World Cup's initial kickoff was overshadowed by looming strikes in local and air travel, the largest air traffic controllers' union, SNCTA, has since reached an agreement with the aviation authority. They had demanded salary adjustments to keep up with inflation.

SNCTA has now pledged to not call for strikes until September of next year, when the Paris Olympics and Paralympics have concluded. In the early months of this year, air traffic controllers frequently went on strike against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, resulting in delayed or canceled flights.

The World Cup, however, has left its mark on train and flight prices, as well as accommodation costs, which have all significantly increased. According to a study by the comparison site Kayak, hotel prices in France during the World Cup are on average 14% higher than in 2022, with Paris only 9% higher. Nonetheless, in Paris, it's hard to find rooms for less than 200 euros per night.

In other host cities, hotel prices for the days of the matches have risen much more significantly – by 110% in Lille and by 137% in Marseille, where the Pope is expected to be on September 22nd and 23rd. In Bordeaux, a room in an apartment hotel near the train station was offered for 250 euros a week ago, while it typically costs less than 100 euros per night.

Airbnb and other platforms show a similar trend. In some of the host cities, the prices of accommodations offered for specific Rugby World Cup matches have tripled or quadrupled, as claimed by a study by the Liwango and Likibu platforms.

Not only Airbnb hosts are hoping to profit from rugby enthusiasts. They typically spend more money than football fans as they often belong to higher-income groups. Moreover, many participating nations have a relatively high per capita gross domestic product.

Fans traveling from far-flung countries like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or South Africa often use the World Cup as an opportunity for an extended stay in France. On average, these tourists stay for two weeks, attend two to three games, and spend around 300 euros per day, says Jacques Rivoal of the France 2023 organizing committee. In contrast, visitors to the 2016 UEFA European Championship spent an average of only 125 euros per day in France.

Business France, the marketing agency for the French economy, hopes to attract new foreign investments during the Rugby World Cup. They are organizing special "Rugby Clubs" in the host cities to bring foreign industry representatives and local business leaders together. For the England vs. Chile game, 60 British companies were invited to Lille.