Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Tony Estanguet regrets that the event is "used" for political purposes

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP 18:01 p.m., June 07, 2023

The president of the organizing committee of the Olympic Games of Paris 2024, Tony Estanguet "regretted" Wednesday that the Olympics could be "used" for "other demands", the day after an interprofessional action on the pension reform at the headquarters of the committee in Saint-Denis. About sixty activists had invested Tuesday the headquarters of the committee (Cojo), an action claimed by the CGT RATP.

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"We regret"

Questioned after an IOC visit to Paris, Tony Estanguet first recalled that the former secretary general of the CGT, Bernard Thibault, as well as the president of the Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, sit on the board of directors to ensure that social rights are respected in the preparation of the Olympics. "We have recently seen demands that do not concern the Olympics specifically but are more political," he said. "We regret, the Olympics must remain this space of celebration, of celebration (...)". "Inevitably, we regret that some want to be able to use the Olympics to make other demands," he added.

He said that he "respected" the action of the day before and that a reflection was underway on a complaint with regard to material damage. "We know that the Olympics will be targeted, for other purposes than the Olympics, we must succeed in making the difference," he said. Calls to disrupt the Olympics, including the hashtag "#pasderetraitpasdejo", had sprung up on social media during the protest against the pension reform.

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'Not worried about the social climate'

Arriving in Paris on Monday for three days, the president of the coordination commission of the Olympics, Pierre-Olivier Beckers, member of the IOC, assured that he was "not worried about the social climate". "It is very logical in a democratic country to have a social climate where people have the right to express their opinion, this is part of the preparation of the Olympics," he added.

"The ambition of Paris has absolutely not deteriorated, there is no delay in the preparations," he was also satisfied, welcoming "constructions in time". He also said he was "confident" about securing the unprecedented opening ceremony on the Seine. "Paris will be ready to host the Olympics of a new era," he said. On Monday, he also said that it was necessary to "continue to seek optimizations" in order to "maintain the budget".

Asked if the question of the presence of Russian athletes had been raised, and possible consequences on the organization, Pierre-Olivier Beckers, said that "it is premature to speak". Asked also about a report by the Court of Auditors revealed by Le Monde, and stressing "uncertainties" on the budget, Tony Estanguet said he took it "with great seriousness".