Exercise was obligatory. A step underlined with a thick line. But it will not change anything: the French Alps will obtain the organization of the Winter Games in 2030. The official attribution will be made on July 24, during the IOC session in Paris, two days before the opening of the Summer Games 2024.

The five-day visit of the IOC Future Host Commission last week to the two French regions did not reverse the course of history. It has only reinforced the certainty that the French candidacy, put together in two short months starting in mid-July lats year, will go through to the end without deviating from the line drawn by the IOC. It will win the bet.

Cautious, the leaders of the French project have refused to already declare victory. But they presented in front of Karl Stoss, the president of the future host commission, and the other members of the delegation sent by Lausanne, an unstoppable argument: the cost. David Lappartient, the president of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), explained it on Friday July 26 in Nice, during the final conference: the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps promise to be the least expensive in history. With an announced budget of 1,975 billion euros, they will be the first to remain well below the two billion mark.

« Our organizational budget represents 45% of that of the Paris 2024 Games., said the president of the UCI, daring a comparison that is not necessarily very useful, the two Olympic events having relatively little in common in terms of dimensions, participation and sports equipment.

Renaud Muselier, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (PACA), has taken action, without fearing to insist on a commitment that will be difficult to keep: “ These two billion, I can tell you that we are not going to exceed them. We are going to take a rigorous approach. Our Winter Games will be the cheapest in history. » Cool.

Two billion, then. And even a little less, according to David Lappartient’s estimates. Impossible ? The following will answer. But the French team has done its math: its project, built essentially on the legacy of the Albertville Games in 1992, presents at least on paper guarantees of security in terms of expenses.

Laurent Wauquiez, the president of the Alpes-Rhône-Alpes region (AURA), explained it at a press conference: recycling in 2030 the sites built for Albertville 1992 will reduce the bill for its most expensive items. “ Already having a bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track in La Plagne will save us 150 million euros, he explained to the media. The Courchevel jumping hill, for its part, represents 100 million savings. As for the Albertville ice rink, which had been used for figure skating, it will house the main press center for the Northern Alps zone. »

The speed skating ice ring? Two options remain on the table: a temporary site in France, probably in Nice, subject to finding a building capable of housing a 200 m long runway; a relocation abroad, to a neighboring country. “ I have two appointments next week”, confided David Lappartient (Netherlands and Italy), specifying that both options had been included in the budget.

Another announcement, also without surprise: the French Alps 2030 will adopt the Paris 2024 model by equipping itself, in addition to the organizing committee, with a public establishment in charge of the construction of permanent sites. A SOLIDEO version 2, the budget of which will be provided by the public authorities and the private sector. Unlike COJO, its budget envelope remains vague. “ One to two billion euros », suggested David Lappartient, specifying that the work will have to be refined, a mission which should be completed before the end of the summer.

The rest is already written. Karl Stoss explained that the future host commission will begin discussions with the international federations concerned at the end of May. It will submit its report for the IOC Executive Board meeting scheduled for June 12. A "short briefing » will then be organized, at the end of June, with all the members of the IOC, in order to present them with a bid which they will have to validate by vote on July 24 in Paris.

With less than six years to go before the event – ​​the shortest deadline in history – the IOC session will then have no other choice than to decide by vote, ideally unanimously, for the attribution of the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps. For the Olympic body, any other scenario would be the certainty of falling into chaos.