Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the French Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games (pictured above), took part in the debate on ticket prices for the Paris 2024 Games at the National Assembly on Tuesday 16 May. As in the first phase of sales, she defended the organisers’ pricing policy, going so far as to argue that the prices proposed were lower than those of previous editions. “We have 10% of the mass of tickets that are above 200 euros,” she explained. “These prices are totally in line with the prices of previous editions of the Games and therefore, taking into account inflation, the prices are lower than those of previous editions.” The minister was questioned by several MPs during a hearing on the sports budget. Among them, the chairman of the Finance Committee, Eric Coquerel (La France insoumise), who said he was “a little worried about the prices announced”, after hearing about tickets costing €2,700 for the opening ceremony and €700 for athletics. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra replied: “These are exceptional moments, with exceptional athletes, who are competing for the most important grail.” The Minister also reminded the audience that one million tickets were being offered at 24 euros (but the State and local authorities have reserved half of them), and that hundreds of thousands of people will be able to attend the opening ceremony free of charge on the upper banks of the Seine. A ceremony for which the number of spectators with free access but with a ticket is currently being refined. “It will be around 400,000, all of which will be confirmed in the next few days“, she announced to MEPs.
