Parisians are confident of seducing the 13-strong International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluation commission who arrived in Paris on Tuesday to evaluate the French capital’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics, Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour said.
Lamour, a two-time Olympic fencing champion, joined Paris Mayor and 2012 President Bertrand Delanoe in welcoming the inspectors who begin their four-day investigation on Wednesday before moving to Moscow.
”It’s exactly the same as for a sporting competitor — same tension, same determination,” said Lamour, adding that they wanted above all to show that they have ”the professionalism to convince and enthusiasm to seduce”.
Delanoe, meanwhile, praised the Paris 2012 team’s ”positive aggressiveness” towards the Games, which have, according to recent surveys, the overwhelming backing of the public, with nine out of ten French people favouring the bid, according to a survey published in French sports daily L’Equipe on Tuesday.
Delanoe added: ”We want to win, but we’re not aggressive. It’s a positive aggressiveness.”
As a national transport strike looms, all the city’s buses were flying Olympic flags proclaiming the ”l’amour des Jeux” (love of the games) slogan, with Delanoe and Lamour inaugurating the nearest metro to the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) in tribute to the Olympics and past champions.
The French capital’s bid will, however, face its stiffest test on Thursday when a national strike called to protest unemployment and French government plans to tamper with the 35-hour working week threatens to wreak havoc.
Madrid, London and New York have already been put under the microscope by the commission, with the final report on the five cities to be published in early June — one month before the 120-odd IOC members decide the 2012 host when they meet in Singapore in July. – Sapa-AFP