At two years almost to the day of the 2024 Olympic Games, it was necessary to mark the occasion for the President of the Republic. Hosting one of the biggest sporting events in the world is a priority at the start of this five-year term and nothing should be left to chance. Evidenced by the meeting convened this Monday at the Elysée at the initiative of Emmanuel Macron with a dozen of his ministers.
The purpose of this “site meeting”, as Emmanuel Macron described it on Thursday on the sidelines of his visit to the Tour de France, “will be for the ministers to take stock of the progress, and possibly to mark the points of fragility, “says the Elysée. “The idea is to be aware of the calendar, the next steps”, before Paris hosts the event from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
A high voltage event for the Interior
Certain weak points are already known, in particular the issue of security. And since the incidents in the Champions League final at the Stade de France on May 28, doubts have arisen about France’s ability to secure such an event.
Coincidentally, this meeting falls five days after the disclosure by the chained Duck a provisional report from the Court of Auditors, devoted to the security of the Olympics. The Court of Auditors identifies several areas of concern shared by security sources, ranging from the securing of the opening ceremony with its unprecedented staging on the Seine to the lack of private security agents, or even risks terrorists and cyber attacks. For the Court of Auditors, the copy is still to be reviewed, considering in particular that a “more precise definition of security needs is becoming urgent”.
In recent days, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, in an interview with the Parisian then during the handover ceremony of the new prefect of police of Paris Laurent Nunez, insisted on the importance that the Olympics represent for his ministry. “This meeting will be an opportunity for the Minister to reiterate that the preparation of the Olympics is his priority,” said Beauvau.
The Olympics are also victims of inflation
The budgetary issue should also be addressed. A report by the audit committee of the organizers of the Olympic Games (Cojo) recently mentioned the inflationary risk. A risk “impossible to imagine a few months ago”, had regretted the boss of the Cojo Tony Estanguet, and to which the Olympics do not escape. “They are very stretched in terms of budget”, assured AFP a source close to the file, to keep their envelope of 4 billion euros (ticketing, sponsors and contribution of the IOC), a budget which benefits from the guarantee of the ‘State.
The Cojo is already in negotiations with the IOC to try to get out of certain constraints of the specifications which are costing it dearly. “Without that, they will not succeed,” deciphers a former elected official with knowledge of the file.
Other questions should still be addressed on Monday such as those of transport, employment linked to the Games, the legacy that the event must leave, but also ways to make the French adhere to these Olympic Games.
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An appointment for what?
If some interpret as an Elysian takeover of the file, others, on the other hand, regret that this meeting is only a stage point. Planned initially to welcome all the actors of the file, this meeting saw its list of guests being reduced to the ministers and services of the State concerned. A dozen ministers are therefore expected, including Bruno le Maire (Economy), Gérald Darmanin (Interior), Sébastien Lecornu (Defence), Pap Ndiaye (National Education) or even the Minister of Sports and the Olympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. But for the moment nothing has filtered out of what could give birth to such an interministerial meeting. “I tell you, not much, if anything,” says an expert in Olympic mysteries on condition of anonymity.
Another stage point is planned with the elected officials “at the start of the school year”, with the town hall of Paris, the Ile-de-France region, the elected officials of Seine-Saint-Denis or the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), said the Elysée. Valérie Pécresse and Anne Hidalgo also deplored Friday not having been invited to this first stage meeting.
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