Laurent Wauquiez has a smile. Almost that of an Olympic champion that he could soon become. The president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region joined forces with Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, to design a winning candidacy in five months. He confides his pride…
LE FIGARO. – The French Alps find themselves in an ideal position to host the 2030 Winter Games following an express candidacy…
Laurent WAUQUIEZ – We actually did it like a real privateer. Renaud Muselier and I both left five months ago. We brought our two regions together. And we did a marathon at the pace of a sprint to put together a candidacy which proposes to rewrite a new history of the Games, sustainable, respectful of the environment and which integrates the mountains and the valleys. The Games are a dream, I remember those in Albertville in 1992 in front of my TV, with Edgard Grospiron, Surya Bonali… To think that we are bringing them back to France is an extraordinary challenge. Our candidacy is the only one selected for a targeted dialogue with the IOC while on the other side there was heavy lifting, with Switzerland, Sweden and the United States.
What do you feel ?
It’s an immense source of pride and a lot of emotion. It is an extraordinary challenge that awaits us. And this was made possible because we were very united with Renaud, then with the CNOSF and the State. It is a first step but also a source of pride to present a very solid and united French candidacy which shows that our Alps are mountains, dynamic, sporty and respectful of the environment.
What are the strong points of the French candidacy?
This is the full use of the legacy of the Alberville Games. We do not need to build bobsleigh tracks, jumps… The distribution into four poles, Haute Savoie (biathlon, cross-country skiing), Savoie (alpine skiing, bobsleigh), Briançonnais (freestyle skiing) and Nice (ice and village) won over the IOC. And the opening ceremony will take place in Rhône Alpes in a location which has not yet been defined.
Don’t you fear criticism from taxpayers who think the Games still cost too much?
We spent barely a few hundred thousand euros to put together the application file. My region is the best managed in France and I can assure you that I have no intention of wasting public money. We will rewrite the history of the Games in a sober, responsible way, without creating gigantic infrastructures.
How much are you planning to budget for?
We are in the process of building it, but the idea is to be on the same trajectory as that of Milan, which must be 1.7 billion. It’s the image of all the French Alps that we’re going to lift up, it’s great…