Even if the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is not yet officially the organizer of the Winter Olympic Games in 2030, the event is already the subject of numerous controversies.
In a letter dated December 18, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, chaired by Laurent Wauquiez, warned that it was withdrawing from the Outdoor Sports Valley (OSV) association based in Annecy, which brings together 500 sports and tourism companies. outdoor including Salomon, Millet, Fusalp or TSL, its regional subsidy. This represented more than 620,000 euros per year, or 36% of its funding, the region being its largest contributor.
This decision sounds like retaliation after OSV signed a platform and joined a collective which insists on “environmental conditions for Games compatible with respect for planetary limits and beneficial for populations and territories”.
In a letter sent to its members on Friday, (OSV) reacted to the letter received from the vice-president of the Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes region (Aura) Stéphanie Pernod. “It is with astonishment that we learned of the content of the letter,” writes Outdoor Sports Valley, which also recalls that it is “convinced of the interest of these Games” and that the region and it “have been long-standing partners and are working jointly for more than ten years in the economic, social and also sustainable development of our sector. »
OSV recalls having “voted to sign a forum proposing environmental conditions to be respected”. “Following this support, we were invited on December 13 to the Élysée for a consultation on the environmental conditions of the JOP 2030,” the letter concludes. We were able to represent our sector but also the Aura region. At each of these stages, our contact person in the region was kept informed in complete transparency. The first step now is to initiate discussions in order to understand the reasons for this misunderstanding and this letter. Our desire has always been to represent your interests and those of the sector without dispute but with kindness and collaboration. All means are implemented to guarantee the sustainability of the association, our actions and our commitments to you. »
Contacted by Dauphiné Libéré, the region specifies that this withdrawal of subsidy is “provisional”, “while awaiting details from OSV on their positioning in relation to the Olympic Games”.
