Is this a first David Lappartient effect? Less than a month after the election of the president of the UCI at the head of the national Olympic committee (CNOSF), France surprised everyone by announcing via a long press release, Tuesday July 18 at the end of the day, a bid for the Winter Games.

Double surprise: the project concerns the Games in 2030, an edition whose attribution has been postponed until next year after an improbable succession of renunciations from candidates, potential or announced.

Finally, a barely less surprising discovery, the project is not only supported by a city or a valley, but by two French regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on one side, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur on the other.

The press release signed by the CNOSF and its Paralympic cousin, the CPSF, explains: “ Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, and Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, today expressed the wish to propose to the sports movement and the State to carry a joint bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the events of the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games"

Without the slightest surprise, the four project leaders – the two regions, the CNOSF and the CPSF – carefully aligned their concept with the new IOC order. Like everyone else, they understood the message and did not hesitate to pose as good students: the French candidacy promises to be respectful “ issues linked to the preservation of biodiversity and the acceleration of global warming”, it will be based on “ existing infrastructures, some of which come from the Albertville Winter Games in 1992”, finally she will highlight “ the essential reduction in organizational costs” and funding mainly through private revenue (partners, ticketing, etc.)"

The following ? Immediately, a lunch in Paris, this Wednesday July 19, at the Elysée where Renaud Muselier and Laurent Wauquiez will share the table with Emmanuel Macron, the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castera, David Lappartient and Marie-Améie Le Fur, the president of the CPSF. On the menu, the Winter Games.

Secondly, a “ joint work” will be carried out in the coming weeks, with all the relevant State services. Objective: identify the strengths of the French application, then be able to “ collectively, after broad consultation, reach a decision in mid-September 2023.”

If the project continues, which is still uncertain at this stage but largely credible, it will be up to the CNOSF to express to the IOC its wish to begin the dialogue phase. A formal draft application will then be submitted to the CNOSF and the CPSF before the end of September, before being immediately sent to the commission for the future host of the IOC Winter Games.

« At the end of this process, explains the press release, it will be up to the IOC Executive Board to decide to open a targeted dialogue with some of the candidates, probably during its meeting in December 2023. This dialogue will only be successful after instruction and support by the State of the application file. candidacy"

Can France win the prize? In a denser landscape, the answer would have been negative. The two French regions, long competitors on this issue, took time to get closer. They go from far away.

But the successive withdrawals from the Pyrenees/Barcelona and Vancouver, then the prolonged – and undoubtedly definitive – break from Sapporo, and finally the wish of Salt Lake City to lean towards the 2034 edition, had the effect of seriously clarifying the scene .

In recent months, Sweden, then Switzerland, have expressed their desire to try their luck. The two countries have entered into a dialogue phase. But, like the French project, they left late and have little time to complete their file with all the necessary guarantees. There " launch window ", to use an expression from Laurent Wauquiez, therefore remains largely open.

The two elected politicians already see themselves as serious candidates for victory. “ Our goal is to embody this turning point in the spirit of Olympism., assures Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. We want to be able to hold the first sustainable Winter Games. Anchored in the territories, which are turning the page on gigantism. » The speech is not new, it is even shared by all the applicants.

« We can offer a new carbon-neutral model of the Winter Olympics from 2030.”, argues Renaud Muselier, the president of the PACA region.

A double blow for France? Winter in 2030 after summer in 2024? Yesterday, the idea would have made you smile. Today, it must be taken very seriously.