At the Paris City Hall,

It's time to signal the end of recess.

During a press conference convened this Tuesday at the premises of the Paris City Hall, Emmanuelle Grégoire, Anne Hidalgo's first deputy, and Pierre Rabadan, deputy in charge of Sports, wished to reach out to PSG in order to end this squabble through the media about the sale of the Parc des Princes which has lasted too long.

“Today the channel of discussion is broken and we wish to re-establish a common and private framework for discussion around the question of the extension of the Parc des Princes”, asked Emmanuelle Grégoire from the outset.

On the side of the municipality, we try to make it understood that this lying poker and these "postures", "this game of the balance of power", lead to nothing if not to delay the project, already well advanced to believe Emmanuelle Grégoire, expansion of the Parc des Princes.

"If we do it well, we can start the work as soon as the 2024 Olympic Games are over and in 2028 or 2029, we will have a PSG match in the new Park", he assured.

For Anne Hidalgo's teams, we remain convinced of one fundamental thing, according to the first deputy: "The city and PSG have in common what is at the heart of the matter, namely that it is not possible nor desirable for PSG to play elsewhere than at the Parc des Princes”.

After having brushed aside the “baroque” proposals for a new stadium in Poissy or in the Bois de Vincennes, Emmanuelle Grégoire says she is “100% sure that we will be able to resolve this problem in a common interest. ".

The example of Roland-Garros and the FFT

If it is true that the PSG has, from the start of its Parisian adventure in 2011, let it be known that it favors the purchase of the stadium, in the long term, the City of Paris has made it clear that this option was not conceivable.

For her, the argument of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi who wants us not to make 500 million euros of investment in a stadium that does not belong to us, does not hold.

Emmanuel Grégoire takes as proof the example of Roland-Garros and the French Tennis Federation, which for a time put forward the idea of ​​relocation before finally lining up behind the option of the Paris City Hall.

“The Roland-Garros site is owned by the city of Paris, but it is a concession made to the French Tennis Federation over 50 years, and the FFT has invested 340 million euros there.

So we can very well reconcile, on very long-term contracts, the economic interest of the concessionaire and his ability to amortize his investments, especially on high-income brands such as PSG.

Our position is very clear, our priority option is not the sale but rather the long contract.

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A helping hand from the City of Paris

This contract for the occupation of the public domain (CODP) which currently binds the PSG and the City of Paris about the Parc des Princes and which currently runs until 2043, could thus be revised upwards.

Which, in the opinion of the first deputy, would be able to satisfy the interests of QSI and PSG.

"We have specific proposals to make to PSG to ensure rapid examination of the project, to do so under legal, technical and financial conditions that secure PSG on its ability to amortize its investment, and over a period long enough to guarantee the interests of the concessionaire, who would almost, in fact, become the owner of the stadium”, announces Emmanuelle Grégoire.

In the desire which is that of the PSG to acquire a larger and more modern enclosure, so as to increase its income, the option proposed by the town hall is undeniably the fastest to set up and the least expensive.

“They have already looked at the options several times to go elsewhere and, on arrival, we all agreed that the future of PSG was at the Parc des Princes”, confides the first deputy.

This is what makes Nasser Al-Khelaïfi's latest ultra-offensive media outings surprising to say the least.

On the side of the town hall, we think that it has more to do with the context of the World Cup in Qatar, when the town hall had hinted that it would not organize a fan-zone for the broadcasting of the matches.

“The discussion about the Parc des Princes was a collateral victim of the context around the World Cup, assures Grégoire.

Since then there have been some harsh words to exchange but it does not matter, today we are reaching out to PSG to return to the negotiating table.

It's up to PSG to decide if he wants to accept this outstretched hand or if he prefers to go back to fighting.

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  • Soccer

  • Sport

  • Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG)

  • Princes Park

  • Paris city hall