パリ五輪開幕まであと２年、仏大統領は不安抑える道を模索

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】フランスのエマニュエル・マクロン大統領は２５日、２０２４年パリ五輪の開幕まで約２年となる中、安全面や予算面で問題を抱えている大会準備への不安を解消するべく、政府高官らと面会した。（フランスのエマニュエル・マクロン大統領。資料写真）
　スポーツ界最大のイベントである五輪は、近代的なアイデンティティーと世界に開かれたフランスのイメージを投影するものとなり、４月に再選を果たしたマクロン大統領の２期目にとって最重要案件となっている。
　しかし、２０２４年７月２６日の開会式が近づく中、高まる懸念はコスト面にとどまらず、セキュリティー面の準備にも広がっている。
　５月２８日にパリで行われたサッカー欧州チャンピオンズリーグ決勝のリバプール対レアル・マドリード戦では、強引な警備態勢によるものと批判の声が上がった混乱が起きたことから、スポーツ大会の開催地として信頼を得ていたフランスの名声は大打撃を受けた。
　とりわけ不安視されているのは、開会式を従来の陸上競技場ではなく、セーヌ川で船を航行させて行うという野心的な構想だ。
　エリゼ宮（大統領府）で開かれた会合には、ジェラルド・ダルマナン内相やアメリー・ウデア・カステラ スポーツ相ら政府高官のほか、現役時代にはカヌー競技で金メダル３個を獲得した大会組織委員会のトニー・エスタンゲ会長が出席した。
　大統領府の関係者は匿名を条件に「大統領は、五輪まで２４か月しかなく、持続的な動員が必要だと強調した」と明かした。
　会合にはパリ市長のアンヌ・イダルゴ氏や、パリを含むイルドフランス地域圏の知事を務めるバレリー・ペクレス氏は招かれなかった。大統領選で敗れた両氏は２２日に、除外されたことに不満を訴える共同声明を出していた。
　大会組織委員会は、周辺のインフラ整備を請け負う五輪関連施設の建設業者ＳＯＬＩＤＥＯとともに、４０億ユーロ（約５６００億円）の予算を見積もっている。しかし、高まるインフレで経費削減を余儀なくされている上に、追加コストの穴を埋めるのに十分なスポンサーはこれまで見つかっていない。
　マクロン氏は仏スポーツ日刊紙レキップのインタビューで、「私はシンプルな原則を再確認した。五輪税は導入しない。五輪の資金は五輪で集めなければならない」と主張した。
　この問題に詳しい情報筋は匿名で「予算に関してはあらゆる面で非常に厳しい」と述べ、秋には問題の程度が判明するだろうと続けた。大統領府関係者によれば、節約可能な部分に関する国際オリンピック委員会（ＩＯＣ）との「協議が開始された」という。
　エッフェル塔やエリゼ宮に近いコンコルド広場など、パリ中心部で多くのイベントを行う大会構想もあり、安全面は特に頭の痛い問題となっている。
　大会を前に進めるにはフランス国内の治安部隊に加え、約２万人に上る民間警備員の雇用が不可欠となる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/07/27-14:25）

French President Emmanuel Macron met senior ministers on Monday to calm concerns that preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics are beset by security and budget worries, almost two years to the day before the sporting extravaganza opens.
The Olympics should be a centrepiece of the freshly re-elected Macron's second term, projecting an image of a France comfortable in its modern identity and open to the world.
But as the opening ceremony on July 26, 2024 draws closer, concerns have grown over costs and security preparations.
France's reputation as a reliable host of sporting events took a major battering following the chaos that marred the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris on May 28, which critics blamed on heavy-handed policing.
A particular subject of anxiety is the ambitious vision -- in a typical Macron flourish -- of an opening ceremony which will not take place as is customary in the athletics stadium, but as a flotilla down the River Seine.
The meeting at the Elysee Palace included key ministers such as Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera -- as well as the head of the Paris organising committee, the three-time Olympic slalom canoe champion Tony Estanguet.
We are two years to the day from the start of the Games. Now it's really a race against the clock, Macron said in an interview with L'Equipe sports daily published Tuesday.
- 'No Olympics tax' -
The Olympics organising committee COJO has a budget of four billion euros ($4.1 billion), as does its partner organisation SOLIDEO, which is charged with building the peripheral infrastructure.
But rising inflation means savings have to be made and so far not enough sponsors have been found to plug the gaps.
Everything is very tight concerning the budget, said a source close to the issue who asked not to be named, adding the extent of the challenge would be clear in the autumn.
An Elysee official said a dialogue had now started with the International Olympic Committee over where savings can be made.
I reaffirmed a simple principle: there will be no Olympics tax. The Games must finance the Games, Macron insisted in his L'Equipe interview.
Macron also met International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach after the gathering, the Elysee said.
Organisers also revealed their official slogan -- Games Wide Open -- and said 13 million tickets will be sold for the Olympics and Paralympics, with nearly half of those reserved for the public set to be sold at less than 50 euros ($51).
The state will buy 400,000 tickets which it will distribute to young people and schoolchildren, especially those under 16, Macron told L'Equipe.
Security is another headache, especially as the vision of the Games is to hold many events in the centre of Paris. This includes events around the Eiffel Tower and the central Place de la Concorde, which is close to the Elysee Palace.
In addition to the French security forces, more than 20,000 private security agents need to be hired.
Estanguet insisted that Macron had been preparing from the first day.
But he acknowledged: In recent months, the situation distanced him a bit away from the Games project, so he wanted to reconnect with the different subjects, he said.
- 'Becoming urgent' -
France's top audit body, the Cour des Comptes, has warned in a report that it is imperative to ramp up preparations to deal with the considerable security challenge.
A more precise definition of security needs is becoming urgent, said the report, the initial version of a study that will be published later this year. It was first revealed by the Canard Enchaine weekly and then seen by AFP.
The report also suggests scaling down the opening ceremony, which is set to feature an armada of 200 boats and some 600,000 spectators.
The Le Monde daily said the prospect of the river opening ceremony -- with spectators packed on the banks of the Seine -- was giving the organisers cold sweats.
The Games will pose a unique challenge. The showcase athletics and swimming events are due to be held in Seine-Saint-Denis north of Paris, one of the lowest-income areas in France, with a cluster of events in the centre of the capital.
Sailing events will take place at the other end of the country in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, while the surfing will be in the Pacific territory of French Polynesia, on the other side of the world.