Paris (AFP)

A report of inspectors general given to the government Thursday recommends maintaining the anti-doping laboratory Châtenay-Malabry on its current location, until his move in 2023, against the opinion of the Ile-de-France region who wants to recover the premises earlier.

In this report, revealed by L'Équipe and of which AFP is aware, the general inspectors of education, sports and research, warn against the solutions proposed by the region, ie say a temporary or permanent relocation to the Génopole d'Evry, from 2020, when the State has already decided for an installation on the Orsay campus of the Université Paris-Sud, on the plateau of Saclay, by 2023 , promising to finance the operation (11 million euros).

According to them, a move to Evry from mid-2020 "is not realistic" and could not be done before March 2021.

On the one hand, the assumption of a "double move to Évry and then to Orsay, for a limited duration of two years, results in an incremental unfunded to date and poses significant risks to the laboratory's activity. "and its" image "and that of" France internationally ", in the context of hosting the Olympics of Paris-2024 and Rugby World Cup in 2023, they write.

- "Serious uncertainties" -

As for the hypothesis of a final move to Évry, it "implies to return to the arbitration rendered in favor of Orsay"; "the credits already committed for this operation by the French Agency for fight against doping (AFLD) would be lost and compensation from the university would be expected".

As the owner of CREPS (Center for Resources, Expertise and Sports Performance) premises in Châtenay-Malabry, where the laboratory is located, the region argues that it must recover the buildings for a renovation operation in preparation for the Games. But this project "is not formalized and adopted to date" and this establishment already has "strong assets" to be retained as "center of preparation for the Games", underline the general inspectors.

They recommend a new convention of occupation of the public domain between the region and the AFLD and "a matching grant from the Ministry of Sports" to the anti-doping agency, to pay a possible rent.

The mission therefore reiterates its preference for the Orsay site because it believes that a move to Evry presents "serious uncertainties".

In this context, the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu has indicated that she wishes to continue the discussions with the Region and AFLD in the coming weeks "to specify the accommodation of the laboratory by the CREPS Chatenay-Malabry until 'the final move in 2023'.

Contacted by AFP, the Île de France region did not wish to react immediately.

© 2019 AFP