French Police Search Paris 2024 Olympics Organizers’ Offices
On Tuesday, French anti-corruption officers searched the Olympic organizing committee’s headquarters in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis and the offices of SOLIDEO, the public body that’s coordinating building projects for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Facts
- On Tuesday, French anti-corruption officers searched the Olympic organizing committee’s headquarters in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis and the offices of SOLIDEO, the public body that’s coordinating building projects for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.1
- The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) said it was looking into allegations of embezzlement of public funds and favoritism in contracts awarded that stemmed from a preliminary investigation that was launched in 2017.2
- Meanwhile, the SOLIDEO office search was part of a preliminary investigation that resulted from an audit in 2022 conducted by the PNF.3
- The Paris organizing committee said it was cooperating with the search but wouldn't offer further comment on the situation.4
- In 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded Paris the 2024 Summer Games and simultaneously awarded Los Angeles — Paris' only competing bid— the 2028 Summer Games.4
- The sporting event has seen allegations of corruption in the past, with claims of voter fraud leading to the expulsion of a number of IOC members during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.4
Sources: 1BBC News, 2Reuters, 3Al Jazeera, and 4Associated Press.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Politico. French Pres. Emmanuel Macron emphasized how important it would be for his country to host an Olympics free of corruption or other issues, and now his reputation could be tarnished. Based on other recent scandals, it seems it’s impossible to host an Olympics without some form of corruption casting a shadow over the Games.
- Narrative B, as provided by Israel Hayom. Sure, Paris could become the third straight Summer Games organizer to be caught up in a corruption crackdown – following Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo – but those cities have something else in common; their Olympic Games went off without a hitch. When the dust settles, no one will remember anything except the exceptional displays of athleticism at the Paris Games.
