Paris' 2012 Olympic bid gets a boost
Tuesday, 2 November 2004Paris' bid for the 2012 Olympics was given a major boost today when French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin signed an agreement for ¤2.5 billion of state money to help finance the project.
"We have entered a sort of world championship based on a country's appeal," he said.
Paris, London, New York, Madrid and Moscow are bidding for the Games which will be awarded by the International Olympic Committee in Singapore next July.
The IOC likes all bidding cities to have the full support of the public authorities so for the French government to commit itself so early is clearly an advantage.
The proposed Paris budget encompasses ¤2 billion for organising the Games and a further ¤5billion on building projects, sports minister Jean-Francois Lamour said.
"The state is guaranteeing the organisation, the smooth running of the Games," he added.
Last week the Paris regional authority voted to spend ¤1 billion on the Games if Paris won. Paris city council has also committed ¤1.27 billion to the project.
IOC inspectors start evaluating the five candidates in February. The cities have until 15 November to hand their bid reports in to the IOC.
