Paris 2024 Welcomes Backing of French Tech

Nearly 300 French Tech entrepreneurs took advantage of the opening of the 2017 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to show support for Paris' bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games by launching ‘LaFrenchTech2024’.

At the opening of the 50th edition of CES on Thursday, French innovators and entrepreneurs, representing the largest delegation of foreign start-ups at the global digital event, declared their support for Paris and France in the campaign to stage the Games in 2024.

French Tech, launched in 2013, is a network of French entrepreneurs committed to innovation and the growth of start-ups both nationally and internationally and is represented by members throughout France as well as in 22 international cities and global tech hubs worldwide.

‘LaFrenchTech2024’ movement was created by French Tech in partnership with two leading French athletes, NBA basketball star and Olympian Tony Parker and World and Olympic handball champion Daniel Narcisse, in order to unite the French tech world behind the Paris 2024 bid and strengthen links between high level sport and entrepreneurship.

Through ‘LaFrenchTech2024’, entrepreneurs and top French athletes will mobilise to share the message of the Paris 2024 campaign around the world and engage the wider tech industry with key elements of Paris’ innovative Games concept. Meetings and workshops will also take place between partner athletes and entrepreneurs in each city where ambassadors of French Tech are present as well as at Schoolab, a symbolic home of innovation in Paris and the first Innovation Studio of its kind in France.

Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 Co-Chair, IOC Member and triple Olympic Champion, said:

"The spontaneous support of French Tech is a strong signal of the enthusiasm that the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid produces within the French population, and in particular entrepreneurs. The Olympic Movement and host cities must respond to the challenge of connecting with younger generations across the world, and this digital initiative is further proof of Paris’ commitment to this cause and becoming the best possible partner for the IOC."

Tony Parker, quadruple NBA champion and Olympian, said:

"The initiative ‘LaFrenchTech2024’ is obvious to me because France is full of talent; in art, in sport and also in the world of business. My own entrepreneurial activities are an illustration of athletes' interest in the "business" sphere and I want to ensure that this mobilisation has positive momentum throughout the year."

Daniel Narcisse, world and Olympic champion in handball, added:

"Entrepreneurs and athletes share common values and the same spirit: an appetite for hard work, the spirit of competition, the ability to rebound after a failure and perseverance. The bid of Paris 2024 is an opportunity to unite talents and to value what France does best. I am happy to be a part of this exciting initiative."

Olivier Cotinat, a serial-entrepreneur and co-founder of Tapbuy.io, an innovative retail software company based in Las Vegas, said:

"The Paris 2024 bid must be innovative and go beyond borders to ensure the campaign ignites a national interest that is shared by all. The entrepreneurs of La French Tech embody excellence and will be formidable ambassadors for Paris 2024 around the world. France and Paris have always had a strong culture of innovation and I am convinced that the Games in 2024 will be a new chapter in the history of French innovation."

Guillaume Cossou, Karate World Champion, former Sports Marketing Chair for ESSEC Business School and current global digital account director at Lagardere Sports, added:

"Bringing the Games to Paris represents such an opportunity for France that it is crucial to mobilise all the energy and talent that our country possesses. I look forward to bringing together athletes and entrepreneurs at the Schoolab Innovation Studio in Paris for workshops dedicated to the cause. The sport and tech industries have much in common and by working together we can learn from and enrich one another."

‘LaFrenchTech2024’ is further proof of the dynamism of the French digital scene and the significance of Paris as a leading tech hub. In recent years, the French capital has established itself as a centre of innovation with nearly 15,000 start-ups and numerous world-renowned incubators like Numa, Schoolab, Le Tremplin (first incubator dedicated to sport), Le Cargo and, Station F, which will soon house a thousand start-ups and become the largest incubator in the world.

Following the success of the ‘Smart Paris 2024’ scheme – launched in June 2016 and concluded in December – ‘LaFrenchTech2024’ marks a new stage in the mobilisation of France’s vast network of digital players worldwide. Two months ahead of the next ‘Paris 2024 Hacking of City Hall’ event in Paris, Paris 2024 continues to strengthen its commitment to this important area and will focus its ongoing efforts in 2017 on developing innovation in social utility, innovation linked to environmental excellence and innovation related to sport and its practice.

For more information, please contact:

Raphaël Leclerc

Paris 2024 Bid Committee

Email: rleclerc@paris2024.org

Tel: +33 6 73 16 88 06

Amelia Fisher-Starzynski

VERO Communications

Email: afisher-starzynski@verocom.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)7557 418 187

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