He was not expected. His name had rarely been mentioned. But the nomination on Thursday, September 5, of Michel Barnier, 73, as Prime Minister of France, does not only end a 60-day hiatus since Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly. It also sounds like excellent news for the French Alps, conditionally hosts of the Winter Games in 2030.
Flashback. On Wednesday, July 24, the IOC session held in Paris on the sidelines of the Olympic Games validated without a hitch the choice of the IOC Executive Board to award the 2030 Winter Games to the French Alps and the 2034 edition to Salt Lake City. But one condition was set for the French file: the signature by the State of the financial guarantee. With a deadline for receiving the document: Tuesday, October 15.
Barring an unlikely scenario, the appointment of Michel Barnier as Prime Minister should remove this last obstacle, which is more formal than real, since the IOC has no plan B to pull out of its drawer for the Winter Games in 2030. The new head of a government whose composition is still very uncertain will sign the guarantee. In both regions, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (AURA), the choice of Emmanuel Macron has all the makings of a blessing.
It is indeed difficult to find a more Olympic candidate than Michel Barnier in the list of possible tenants of Matignon. No one has forgotten that the Savoyard co-chaired with Jean-Claude Killy the organizing committee of the Albertville Winter Games in 1992. He was one of the instigators, in his capacity as president of the Savoie Regional Council. He carried the project through to the end.
Michel Barnier is still a member of the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission, chaired by Albert of Monaco. He carried the Olympic flame for the Paris 2024 Games at the end of June on the Glières plateau, during its visit to Haute-Savoie (photo above).
Asked at the beginning of the year by Ski Chrono and Dauphiné Libéré on the French Alps 2030 project, then selected by the IOC for the targeted dialogue phase, the new Prime Minister did not hide his enthusiasm at the idea of seeing the Winter Games return to France.
« It is an ambitious and demanding project to rely on these two large regions, he explained to the two media outlets. This project is complex and requires a lot of work, particularly on clean transport, regional services and interregional connections. The rail network needs to be improved within a tight budget. But the fact that we do not have to build major facilities, except for the ice rink in Nice, should make it possible to meet these financial commitments. »
Michel Barnier had also suggested that it would be relevant to " make a place in Val d'Isère », thus joining his friend Jean-Claude Killy on this issue. The image and expertise of Val d'Isère will be useful for the success of these Games", he explained. The Savoyard had also admitted having a preference for Martin Fourcade to ensure the governance of the organizing committee.
Coincidence of the calendar: the appointment of Michel Barnier was announced by the Elysée a few hours after the election of Fabrice Pannekoucke as president of the AURA region, replacing Laurent Wauquiez, who became a member of parliament during the last legislative elections. The mayor of the commune of Moûtiers, in the Tarentaise valley, has always been a solid and loyal defender of the Olympic project in the French Alps.
Expected in Lausanne, the signing of the State's financial guarantee will not only be a document to be added to the file. It will allow the procedure for creating the Olympic Games Organising Committee (OCOG) to be launched.
