The week promised to be calm for the COJO Paris 2024, stuck between the bridge of July 14 and the upcoming mark, Tuesday July 26, of D – 2 years before the opening of the Olympic Games. But the news knocked on his door three times in a single day, Thursday July 21. Political and commercial news. Sport will come later.
Business, first. The COJO has not yet announced its next premium partner (the luxury group LVMH?), highlighted as an urgent necessity in the recent report of the audit committee chaired by Jacques Lambert, but it has already found two sponsors for the torch relay. The Banques Populaires and the Caisses d'Epargne will sponsor the torch's long journey across France in 2024, along a route currently still under construction.
The two sponsors are in reality only one, the two banking networks belonging to the same entity, BPCE, already involved in the adventure of the Paris 2024 Games. The group has even entered history as the first premium partner of the OCOG, announced in September 2018, even before the official opening of the national marketing campaign.
The commitment of the Banques Populaires and the Caisses d’Epargne “ will bring this exceptional event to life in the region which will begin in spring 2024 and will kick off this celebration until the Paris 2024 Games“, explains a press release from the banking group. The two sponsors announce that they want to enable their clients, members, employees and the general public to “ take an active part in the celebrations which will take place in the French regions"
BPCE should not remain the sole sponsor of the torch relay for long. It could be joined by one or more IOC global partners, members of the TOP program. For the Tokyo 2020 Games, Toyota and Coca-Cola shared sponsorship of the flame route with Japanese companies.
Politics now. Amélie Ouéda-Castéra, the new Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, announced during the COJO board of directors, on July 12, Emmanuel Macron's desire to bring together the actors before the end of July of the project. The head of state confirmed Thursday that the meeting would be held on Monday July 25 at the Elysée. It will be a “ site meeting with state services » to provide an update on the preparation.
« We have a lot of issues, access to events, ticketing, preparation issues for our athletes, good conditions for all delegations, security, organization and finalization of the work., explained Emmanuel Macron on France 2, on the sidelines of his presence on the Tour de France stage in Hautacam, in the Hautes-Pyrénées (photo above). Monday, I have a site meeting with state services: the ministers, because several of them are new and it is important to remobilize; all state services, prefects, those responsible for security, technical teams”.
Obviously, the President of the Republic wants to delve more regularly into the Paris 2024 file, two years before the deadline. He explained on Thursday his desire to start the school year at another “ waypoint“, but this time with the elected officials. “ Many are concerned: obviously the city of Paris, the metropolis, the Region, detailed Emmanuel Macron. But these are territories across the whole of France which are affected by the Olympics: Marseille, French Polynesia…”
A takeover? The head of state does not present it that way. In the Pyrenees, he assured that preparation was at “ good level“. But he insists: “ We know what needs to be reinforced, we know the points where we need to secure everything, lock everything. It’s now a time trial, and it’s in teams"
Still on the political side, the arrival of a new Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, 58 years old. Called to replace Didier Lallement, he was officially presented Thursday July 21 by Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior. Its mission: to put into music the security of the Paris 2024 Games after the resounding failure of the last Champions League final at the Stade de France.
The message delivered to the new prefect by Gérald Darmanin is intended to be unambiguous: “ You will be the police chief in charge of the Olympics, and the entire police headquarters must be focused on this objective. The upcoming organization of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games constitute major challenges and I ask you today to ensure the general mobilization of all the resources of the police headquarters"
