Michel Barnier provided the State’s financial guarantee to the IOC – Libération

The award of the 2030 Winter Olympics to France was frozen due to lack of a Prime Minister. This Wednesday, October 2, Michel Barnier made a financial commitment from the State to the IOC, necessary for formalization.

Time was running out, the Prime Minister barely lingered. On Wednesday October 2, Michel Barnier provided the financial guarantee from the State to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), necessary for the officialization of the allocation of 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps. This letter was awaited by the IOC, which had awarded the 2030 Winter Olympics to the French Alps subject to obtaining the financial guarantee from the State and the regions. Due to the dissolution of the National Assembly and the legislative elections which followed at the beginning of the summer, this guarantee could not be sent on time to the IOC, which had granted France a delay until the 1st october. It was therefore sent to the president of the Olympic body, Thomas Bach, a day late.

“I confirm that I undertake to guarantee the financing of any possible budgetary deficit of the organizing committee of the Olympic Games”, wrote the tenant of Matignon in a letter addressed to Thomas Bach, and published on Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. “The dream comes true”, he commented, while NGOs have been warning for a year of the need to rely on existing equipment and natural snow to organize the event.

520 million euros

Asked on Saturday about the French delay, the new Minister of Sports, Gil Avérous, warned that the guarantee would be sent to the IOC, “maybe not October 1, but maybe October 2 or 3”. In his letter, Michel Barnier does not specify the amount that the State undertakes to guarantee to the IOC. “The budgetary commitments corresponding to this letter of guarantee will be specified within the framework of the public finance law for 2025, which must be approved by Parliament,” he indicates. According to the daily the Worldthis financial support would be 520 million euros.

According to forecasts from the two regions initiating the project, the budget for the 2030 Winter Games should be around 3 billion euros, broken down between organizational costs (two billion) and infrastructure (one billion). . In July, The letter A however revealed that a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance commissioned by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned of a risk of overruns.