France May Adopt Munich Approach to Olympic Bid

(ATR) French IOC member Guy Drut says the referendum that rejected a Munich 2022 Olympic bid may "inspire" a similar regional vote in France to decide if his country bids for the 2024 Games.

Noting that a "credible Olympic project" required support from all parts of the country, including the backing of sports federations and different levels of government, he was quoted in a FrancsJeux.com article saying that he was not opposed to a regional consultation to determine if there was enough desire to bid for the Summer Olympics.

He said a referendum was expected next year in late summer or autumn. With the populations concerned, in the Ile-de-France and in the PACA region, "the two sites that have real credibility to apply [for the Olympics]."

French sports federations have already approved the idea of a bid "almost unanimously."

He said the support of Olympic federations was "not enough". An Olympic bid required a balance of backing from the sports and political worlds.

"Paris lost the 2012 Games because the application was too political. But to focus only on the sports movement would be a mistake," he said.

French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) president Denis Masseglia told ATR at WADA’s World Conference on Doping in Sport that Olympic officials and the national government were weighing up the options.

The "period of reflection" that followed Annecy’s ignominious defeat in the 2018 bid race should last "about 8 months", he added.

So far, he said there was no decision on a city. Paris and Lyon have been mentioned, but Masseglia hinted that it "may be somewhere in the south." Paris has to wait for their mayoral election before the matter is even considered, he added.

A CNOSF commission led by International Rugby Board president Bernard Lapasset is currently analyzing the feasibility of a bid together with government officials.

Reported by Mark Bisson

Homepage photo courtesy of Getty Images

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