At Paris town hall, we assure with a smirk: “There are only two personalities identified in the Olympic Games (JO) by the French: Tony Estanguet (president of the organizing committee) and Anne Hidalgo. » A way of putting aside the role of the head of state, Emmanuel Macron, but also that of Valérie Pécresse. The president of the Île-de-France region, however, wants to be on the front line, and intends to be even more so as the Olympics approach. This was the meaning of the organization Monday morning of a press conference at the regional headquarters, in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis). “We are the first financier after the State and we are demanding to invest 500 million euros in the event,” she said, less than 100 days before the start of the competition.
On Valérie Pécresse’s desk in particular, the thorny issue of public transport. The president of the region is at the head of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), and is therefore in charge of the proper functioning of the Ile-de-France network, while millions of tourists are expected. Last November, Anne Hidalgo sowed doubt by asserting that transport would not be “ready”. “The Games could have been a great opportunity for revolution in the context of public transport, as we did in Paris, on cycle paths, for example. It was not a choice that Valérie Pécresse made, we regret it,” laments an elected official in the mayor’s entourage.
The words of the city councilor were at the time seen as unbearable interference at the regional headquarters. “We didn’t understand his point, even though we work well with all the stakeholders. We’re going to blame it on other issues…”, whispers those around Valérie Pécresse. In reality, many saw it as a smokescreen for the mayor of Paris to extricate herself from the controversy over her half-public, half-private trip to Tahiti. “Bad news always circulates seven times more than the real news,” mocked the president of the region this Monday in front of the press. “We have to stop the doubt, the self-denigration,” she insisted, while declining the reinforcements on the mobility offer.
Beyond the question of transport, Valérie Pécresse demonstrated that the regional executive had thought of the Olympic Games as a means of considerably transforming the territory. “We will leave a lasting legacy for all Ile-de-France residents. Thanks to the Games, we will have done in 7 years what we generally take 15 years to achieve,” she said. The president notably mentioned the construction of the Olympic Village on Île-Saint-Denis, which is intended to subsequently be transformed into housing, “particularly for students”.
Like Anne Hidalgo in Paris, Valérie Pécresse also hopes that a successful Olympic Games will allow her to benefit politically. “When you’re in politics, you just try to do things well,” retorts one of his close friends.
