No time to waste. Less than two months after officially announcing its candidacy for the 2030 Winter Games, France is accelerating its pace. Respectful of customs, the project leaders offered themselves a round trip to Lausanne on Thursday September 7. They pushed open the door of the IOC.
The French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) announced it the same day in a press release: a delegation of six people went to the Olympic capital to present the project of the two French regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes. -Côte d’Azur. The French team met the owner, Thomas Bach.
The casting says a lot about the importance of the visit. At the head of the procession, David Lappartient, the president of the CNOSF, also at the head of the UCI. At his side, Marie-Amélie Le Fur, president of the French Paralympic Committee (CPSF). The two regional presidents, Renaud Muselier for Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Laurent Wauquiez for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, were also on the trip. An evidence. For the rest, the troop included two French members of the IOC, the former Guy Drut and the new Martin Fourcade. Two Olympic champions. Another obvious one.
The nature of the exchanges? Classic. At this stage of the process, France is advancing its pawns without trying to shake the walls. Entering the campaign last, she began after mid-July the “permanent dialogue” with the IOC. The Olympic body having announced to postpone the attribution of the 2024 Winter Games until the July 2030 session in Paris, the French have no reason to rush. Like their two supposed European rivals, Sweden and Switzerland, they can do things in the right order.
The CNOSF press release specifies: “ This meeting of the French delegation made it possible to share with the IOC teams the ambition of the French candidacy. » In detail, David Lappartient and the rest of the troupe emphasized to Thomas Bach that “ the French vision of the organization of the Games must be at the service of the host territories, which benefit from an exceptional environment to host this global event"
The press release also notes that “ all the actors present, who work in consultation on the different modalities of the candidacy file, with the support of the French State, were able to reaffirm their unity in the service of the Olympic and Paralympic sports movement and in the service of the organization of Sustainable and innovative games as part of the essential changes desired by the IOC and the dynamics of the Paris 2024 Games"
Finally, the CNOSF explains that joint work, “ by involving all stakeholders in close collaboration with the IOC, will continue in the coming weeks to share the vision and organize the master plan for the French Alps' candidacy for the 2030 Winter Games. »
Nothing very spectacular. But the visit to Lausanne of the French delegation respects a schedule imposed for all applicants for the Olympic Games. It also sends a signal, and a message, to the competition: France is moving forward, it is moving forward at a good pace and will not back down.
Proof that the project is taking an increasingly concrete turn: last week's appointment of Vincent Jay, Olympic biathlon champion at the 2010 Vancouver Games, as project director for the bid for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. He was also on the trip, Thursday September 7, to the Olympic House in Lausanne. At the end of his sporting career, the Savoyard became director of the Val d'Isère sports club, before joining the Banque Populaire Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as head of sports partnerships.
Coincidentally with the calendar, the Swedish project also advanced a new pawn this week towards a more formal application. A delegation from the national Olympic (SOK) and Paralympic (SPK) committees visited the commune of Falun and the county of Dalarna, in the center-west of the country. Purpose of the visit: to meet local authorities and inspect the competition sites planned for Nordic skiing events.
