Paris must announce this Tuesday, June 23, World Olympic Day, its candidacy for the Summer Games in 2024. An announcement delivered around midday, from the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee (CNOSF). A little earlier in the morning, the project leaders will have received one by one the representatives of the cities competing for the sailing events of the Parisian system. Six files are in the running: Brest, Hyères, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Marseille and the Morbihan department. The candidacy of Le Havre, the closest to the capital, appears to be one of the most successful. Edouard Philippe, the mayor (Les Républicains) of the Norman town, answered questions from FrancsJeux.

FrancsJeux: Why does the city of Le Havre want to host the sailing events of the Paris Olympic project?

Edouard Philippe: Le Havre has a very long Olympic history. Its port had hosted the regattas at the Paris Games in 1900 and 1924. Before that, the city had hosted the IOC Congress in 1897. Pierre de Coubertin was from Normandy, he used to speak of Le Havre as his heart city . But tradition does not explain everything. Le Havre is the port of Paris. It was built for this, at the end of the Seine, “at the end of the street”. Above all, in recent years we have embarked on a resolute policy for the development of boating. The city has 1300 rings. She holds the record for licensees at the French Sailing Federation. Finally, it has a great tradition of nautical competitions, the best known being the Transat Jacques Vabre.

What are Le Havre’s assets to convince the Paris 2024 team?

They are numerous. Firstly, the proximity to Paris, just 2 hours away. The setting, with miles of beach, right in the city. The presence of a body of water facing which we will be able to install stands for 5000 people in the immediate vicinity of the Olympic regattas. The possibility of building an athletes' village in the Docks district, currently under renovation, and location for the development of the Le Havre university campus. A village on the water, central and homogeneous.

What would the competition venue look like?

The events will take place on the grounds of the Société des Régates du Havre, the oldest sports club in Western Europe, created in 1838. It benefits from an exceptional setting, for competitors and spectators alike.

The IOC Agenda 2020 emphasizes the notions of sustainable development, legacy and cost reduction. How does the Le Havre project fit into this approach?

On sustainable development, the answer is beyond doubt. The proof is that the last edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre, in 2013, received the label of large-scale eco-nautical event. As far as inheritance and costs are concerned, it turns out that we are currently working on the renovation of the quays and the Le Havre coastline. The timetable for this candidacy is an opportunity to move up a gear and give this project an Olympic dimension. The constructions planned in our file will be carried out, whatever happens. The 2024 Games will accelerate them. They will also leave a lasting legacy in Le Havre.

Who are the supporters of the Le Havre Olympic project today?

The associative fabric supports us fully in this endeavour. And, despite the very tight schedule for this call for applications, we had no difficulty in bringing the population together around the project. Politically too, the file is unanimous. A total union made concrete by the presence at our side of Valérie Fourneyron, former mayor of Rouen and Minister of Sports, but also of Laurent Beauvais and Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, the presidents of the two Normandy regions. We often try to pit Rouen and Le Havre against each other but in this candidacy the two cities make common cause because Le Havre's Olympic ambition is the ambition of all of Normandy!

Paris's candidacy for the 2024 Games is resolutely sporting, supported by the sports movement and the athletes. Can the Le Havre project say the same?

Le Havre's candidacy supports that of Paris and shares the same values. We have been supported, since the start of the project, by two great champions, the Le Havre swimmer Hugues Duboscq and the Norman judoka David Douillet. The sailors, for the moment, prefer not to comment and I completely understand that. But all those who have already participated in the Transat Jacques Vabre have retained strong and moving memories of Le Havre, its atmosphere, its port and its body of water.