Dancers in France called off a threat to strike during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris after event organizers met some of their demands, labor unions said on Wednesday.
Thousands of dancers, musicians and other performers are expected to line the bridges and banks of the Seine River on Friday for the ceremony, which for the first time ever is being held outside rather than in an enclosed sports stadium.
Some dancers, angered by disparities in pay, had threatened a walkout, which would have partially disrupted a widely anticipated and high-risk event that will be watched by millions across the world.
About 200 dancers even briefly interrupted a rehearsal on the banks of the Seine in protest earlier this week, standing motionless with their fists raised in the air for the duration of their eight-minute routine.
Labor unions were complaining that about 250 to 300 dancers employed on temporary contracts were being unfairly treated compared to the majority of the production’s dancers, who are full-time employees of dance or ballet companies.
But the S.F.A.-C.G.T. union, which represents artists and performers, said after a meeting with the Games organizers on Wednesday that it had reached a deal on one of the dancers’ main demands: increased broadcast royalties for the temporary contract dancers, who previously were going to receive far less than others.
In a statement, the union claimed a “victory” that was “not total” and said the dancers had agreed to lift their strike threat.
The union was unsuccessful in another of its main demands: increased housing and transportation stipends to ease the financial burden of dancers from outside the Paris region.
Labor unions have also worried that dancers positioned on some of the French capital’s rooftops along the Seine are not receiving adequate protection from lead dust that has accumulated there over the years because of erosion, or that was deposited there more recently by the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Ghislain Gauthier, the secretary general of the C.G.T.-Spectacle, an umbrella union for cultural and show business performers, said that it was unclear whether the organizers had followed rules governing work sites with risks of lead contamination.
“Normally, an expert laboratory has to come to evaluate the toxicity,” Mr. Gauthier said. “We don’t know if that was done.”
The Paris Summer Olympic organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. But Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, said on Tuesday that the strike threat was “so French.”
“It’s part of our reality,” Ms. Hidalgo said.
Catherine Porter contributed reporting.
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