Olympic Games: Paris 2024 in the sights of the Court of Auditors
Logo of Paris 2024, May 13, 2017 AFP / Archives
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
3 mins
In a report presented Tuesday, January 10 to parliamentarians, the Court of Auditors declares itself unable, at this stage, to assess the overall cost of the Paris 2024 Olympics. The magistrates also point to the difficulties in terms of security and transport in Ile- of France.
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In a report on the organization of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, presented on Tuesday January 10 to the Senate and then to the National Assembly before its publication on January 11, the magistrates of the Court of Auditors show concern about the balanced budget. of the Games Organizing Committee (Cojop), revalued on December 12, 2022 by more than 400 million euros, to now stand at 4.38 billion euros.
Uncertainties on expected revenue
At the time of the financial review, Cojop maintained that the additional expenses, mainly due to inflation, would be covered by increased ticketing and sponsorship revenue.
"
Uncertainties still remain on the expected revenue, in particular that of marketing partnerships, and risks are identified in expenditure
", indicate the magistrates, who also deplore the anticipated partial consumption of the Cojop contingency reserve (115 million out of 315 million ).
Although the Cojop is an association under the 1901 law which operates with private funds, the State acts as guarantor in the event of a deficit.
The Court notes that in the current state, between the budget lines of Cojop, Solideo (responsible for permanent works), the expenses of local authorities and those of the State which have not yet been fixed, it is not able to calculate the real cost of the Olympics and "
its total impact on public finances
".
The Court of Auditors also points to security and transport as "
risks to be circumscribed
" for the Paris Olympics and also urges the Cojop to speed up the signing of certain contracts.
"
The issues relating to safety and transport remain challenges to be met and must be the subject of particular vigilance by the public authorities and the organizing committee
", notes the Court.
The question of transport
On security, the Court of Auditors recommends "
planning the use of internal security forces by ensuring a balance between covering the needs for the Games and those of security throughout the national territory
".
It recommends “
stabilizing private security needs and establishing alternative measures to remedy its probable shortcomings
” because the need for private security agents, more than 20,000 at a minimum, is very likely not to be met.
It recommends “
finalizing the overall security plan for the Games before the end of the first half of 2023
”.
The security of the Olympic Games and that of the unprecedented opening ceremony on the Seine has been the subject of multiple meetings for two years and a distribution of responsibilities between the State, the organizing committee and the communities.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games along six kilometers of banks of the Seine must welcome 600,000 spectators.
With regard to transport in Ile-de-France, the Court of Auditors indicates that "
some projects at this stage present uncertainties about their delivery time and increase the tension on the existing transport network
".
"
Several infrastructure operations
(...)
present major risks due to already tight schedules and no real room for maneuver
", she notes, referring to Eole (project to extend the RER E) and the redevelopment of Porte Maillot.
"
If they were not completed for the Games, the result would be an unsustainable tension on the heavily used lines, with the associated risks of incidents and congestion for daily users.
Such phenomena would contribute to greatly degrading the acceptability of the event for the population
, ”she further notes.
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