Still nothing. Weeks go by, meetings follow one another and the thermometer drops. But the name of the future president of the organizing committee for the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps is still shrouded in a thick smokescreen.
The file was supposed to move forward at least one step on Thursday, November 28, during the meeting of the main players in the project at Matignon, around Prime Minister Michel Barnier. It has not budged an inch. It even seems to have moved back slightly with the announcement of a new stage in the recruitment process for the man, or woman, who is supposed to embody the Olympic and Paralympic event over the next few years.
Failing to pull a name out of their hat – Martin Fourcade, Vincent Jay and Marie Martinod, all Olympic medallists, the most regularly cited – the participants in the Matignon meeting agreed on one point: the candidates for the post of president of the organizing committee will have to undergo a study of their file by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life and the French Anti-Corruption Agency.
In principle, nothing very exceptional for a public service. But the decision raises questions. Why, in fact, have we waited so long to decide on such a procedure?
The same approach will be imposed in the recruitment of the future general director of the organizing committee. It also concerns the other candidates for the presidency, who have come to complete the list in addition to the three Olympic medalists. Fabrice Pannekoucke, the president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, confided as he left the meeting: " Other candidates have expressed interest in the position ».
Let's be clear: the decision to request the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life is mainly aimed at Martin Fourcade. The multiple Olympic biathlon champion poses a problem for decision-makers: he has kept several partnership contracts since the end of his sporting career, notably with the brands Rossignol and Odlo. There is nothing forbidden in that. But his situation could create a conflict of interest if he were reluctant to get rid of them after being chosen for the presidency of the COJO.
The High Authority has eight days to meet and decide on the income and assets of the candidates, whether known or still mysterious. The matter could therefore be settled by mid-December, subject to reaching a consensus.
So much for the unknown. For the rest, the French Alps 2030 file finally seems to be clearing up. Rumors are now being replaced by some certainties. Here is a first list.
The organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will have to rely on a five-member executive board, composed of representatives from the two regions – Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (AURA) –, the Olympic and Paralympic committees, and the State. Its president should therefore have less room for maneuver than Tony Estanguet for the Paris 2024 Games.
COJO president's salary should be around 200.000 euros per year, including bonuses. In his capacity as president of the Paris 2024 Games, Tony Estanguet earned 270.000 euros.
The headquarters of the organizing committee will be installed in the AURA region. Not a scoop. But the option of Bourget-du-Lac, in Savoie, long discussed, is no longer relevant. It was decided that it will be located in Lyon, not far from Saint-Exupéry airport, for essentially practical reasons. But it could be forced to move as the Games approach, to be closer to the heart of the event.
The SOLIDEO 2, the public institution in charge of the creation of permanent sites, will be located in Marseille. Its presidency will be voluntary. It will be ensured according to the principle of alternation by the two regional presidents, Renaud Muselier for PACA, Fabrice Pannekoucke for AURA. The first of the two elected will have the privilege of starting.
