“Do you really believe that the Games only last a fortnight and concern only one city? (…) It is a project that will live well beyond the sporting competition and which will involve all the territories”promises the Paris Games Organizing Committee (Cojo).
“We need to reinject a lot more sport into our society” et, “for this purpose, use great events”declared in mid-May the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, in response to the progression of obesity among young people.
In fact, who better than communities to transmit the Olympic dream to “all French people, everywhere on the territory”mantra of the organizers?
Handball in Lille, shooting in Châteauroux, surfing in Tahiti… The Paris-2024 events are spread out geographically as rarely before. “We broke the concept”, welcomes Raphaël Leclerc, responsible for the “mobilization of territories” within the organizing committee.
Local authorities can also obtain the “Terre de Jeux” label. “Free and available in ten minutes on the internet”according to Mr. Leclerc, it “enhances”thanks to a communication kit, the territories “who wish to put more sport in the daily life of their inhabitants”.
“Playing cards”
To date, 3,341 municipalities have been certified, including Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne), also a pilot city for “active design”, a concept that consists of developing public space in a light and fun way to encourage residents to sport (a running lane on a sidewalk, a via ferrata on a school wall, etc.).
“We are the archetype of medium-sized towns very yellow vests, to which we have always turned our backs. The Olympics are a playing card that could revolutionize our territory”assures the LR mayor of Saint-Dizier, Quentin Brière, for whom the Olympics “need to show that their heritage will not only be Parisian”.
Some departments are also in the starting blocks to welcome the flame. According to the Cojo, 54 French departments and five overseas territories have notably applied, for 180,000 euros per day.
A cost considered prohibitive in Indre-et-Loire and in Creuse, but willingly assumed in Moselle, a department which will also welcome Filipino athletes in its “Games preparation centers” (CPJ).
“The flame is 26 million viewers and the Olympics, four billion, it is the biggest planetary event. The objective is to promote the department and organize popular festivals”confirms the president of the Moselle departmental council, Patrick Weiten.
The department of Yonne has invested 700,000 euros to welcome the flame, sharpen its communication and renovate certain equipment. “We are a rural department but we have the right to dream of the Games and since we are not far from Paris, we aim to become a tourist base”argues Philippe Lala, territorial project director “Yonne24”.
“Catalysts”
But not all communities have the same degree of enthusiasm. In Grigny, in Essonne, the PCF mayor Philippe Rio has won the “Terre de Jeux” label but since then, “it’s dead calm”.
“As this label did not come to us and there is no associated funding, I dropped the case”, said the chosen one. And to add: “Fortunately, I am moving to develop sports facilities in working-class neighborhoods, which are the most deprived.”
Some communities are also worried about a possible increase in the bill for the Games, particularly in terms of security, while their finances are already battered by inflation. “There could be an impact next year on our ability to bring the Olympic year to life”admits the DVG mayor of Chambly (Oise), David Lazarus.
Asked by AFP about the economic impact of the Games outside Ile-de-France, several researchers consider the evaluation still risky, even if according to geographer Pascal Gillon, 95% will concern the Paris region.
“The Games are a catalyst for investment. What is promised is a plan for 5,000 sports equipment worth 250 million euros, but you have both a dojo and a pull-up bar”believes Pierre Rondeau, sports economist.
“Today no country really wants to organize the Games. They are presented as a catalyst to facilitate their social acceptance, but do we really need them to conduct a sports policy?”asks Loïc Ravenel, researcher at the International Center for Sports Studies.
