Olympics: Public cost of Paris 2024 could rise to €3 billion

PARIS – The president of France’s national audit office Pierre Moscovici said on Tuesday that the cost to the public purse of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games could be around €3 billion (S$4.3 billion).

In December, the organising committee, which is largely privately funded but receiving some public money, increased its budget by 10 per cent to €4.4 million.

That is the same as Solideo, a partly publically funded company responsible for building facilities and infrastructure, has estimated its work will ultimately cost. It is receiving €1.87 billion from the public purse.

Moscovici told the French Senate’s Culture, Education and Sport commission that his estimate of a final public bill of “around €3 billion” included government expenditure on the Games and on security, health and transport.

He said currently the total was €2.4 billion, with €1.3 billion from the national government and €1.1 billion from local authorities.

“The Games often suffer budgetary drift which puts a strain on public trust,” Moscovici said as he presented a report on the Olympics. But, he added, for Paris “we have not seen any significant slippage”.

The 2024 Olympics are from July 26 to Aug 11 and the Paralympics from Aug 28 to Sept 8.

The audit body also said that organisers needed to finalise their security plans for the Games soon, warning that the opening ceremony on the River Seine posed a major challenge and would likely need police support.

The Court of Auditors made 15 recommendations to the organising committee, highlighting concerns around a reliance on private security operators to protect the Games and risks over transport links.

Moscovici called the security of Paris 2024 a “major challenge”, and said internal security forces such as the police and army needed to be incorporated and paid for.

“We’re asking that the global security plan is finalised in the first trimester of 2023, so the reinforcement by internal security forces can be planned. We also recommend that the transport plan be finalised site by site,” he said.

“It’s doable but what the Court wants to say is that it is high time to get into the operational phase. It’s not too late but it’s tense.”

Moscovici said the opening ceremony on the Seine was a challenge, with at least 600,000 expected to attend as athletes and delegations will sail along the river.

But Paris 2024 chief finance and compliance officer Fabrice Lacroix told Reuters it was still too soon to tell whether the police or army would be needed. The committee had just issued a tender for private security.

“If at the end of the day we need public resources, we will support the cost, and it will not cost more than paying for private security,” he said, adding he agreed with the Court of Auditors that it can be difficult to find trained security agents at short notice.

The report also urges Paris 2024 to complete the renovation of transport facilities in time. He pointed out the risk of delays on the Metro’s line 14, and at major rail hubs such as the Gare du Nord.

AFP, REUTERS