Gloomy prospect: France could soon lose the last international sporting bodies still having an address in its capital. The international automobile federations (FIA) and football federations (FIFA) explained in a joint press release that the absence of a specific status, and the abandonment of tax advantages, could encourage them to look elsewhere. “Although France is the cradle of motorsport, international competition, particularly in terms of labor costs, and the globalization of sport, are weakening this position, explains Xavier Malenfer, the director of institutional and international relations of the FIA. Without clarification, through the recognition of a specific status for international sports federations, there is little hope of seeing the activities of the FIA develop further, despite all the incontestable assets of Paris. As a reminder, the FIA has its headquarters in the heart of Paris, on Place de la Concorde. FIFA, for its part, set up a Paris office in June 2021. The French executive had tried to pass into the 2024 budget a law containing tax provisions favorable to international sports bodies, with the hope of attracting new ones. . But in December 2023, the Constitutional Council censored this tax regime, citing equality before taxes. The FIA and FIFA insist: “The major obstacle identified to this French attractiveness: the absence of their own legal status for international federations. Under French law, they have the status of associations, and cannot be considered either as international organizations or as companies. Which has concrete consequences on their activities, their taxation, and, ultimately, on their interest in being in France.”
