The race to host the ‘24 Games could swing on the results of France’s presidential election on Sunday. If centrist favorite Emmanuel Macron wins, he would likely maintain the status quo regarding France’s international relationships. However, if far-right challenger Marine Le Pen wins, she has promised a nationalist program to pull France from the European Union, close borders and restore the Franc currency. While both candidates have nominally endorsed the Paris bid, Le Pen’s rhetoric is at sharp odds with the principles of the IOC. Additionally, some inside the organization believe her administration could not be counted on to cooperate with staging the Games. The L.A. bid is already facing headwinds internationally because of President Trump’s immigration and travel policies, along with his harsh criticisms of NATO and China during the '16 campaign. The French bid is much more closely tied to its central government than the U.S. bid, which is privately funded and much more dependent on the local California and L.A. governments. All polls show Macron with a lead heading into the vote. In an interview with USA Today earlier this week, Paris ’24 co-Chair Tony Estanguet said the election would not change anything about the bid, and it will be led by the sports world, not politicians of any stripe.
LOOKING DOWN UNDER: The IOC, Paris and L.A. also are watching the Australian Olympic Committee election Saturday. Influential IOC VP and AOC President John Coates is being challenged for re-election for the first time since taking the post in '90, as he faces Gold Medal-winning field hockey player Dannie Roche. Coates’ membership in the IOC flows exclusively from his position atop the AOC, and the body would abruptly lose one of President Thomas Bach’s top deputies if he loses. While Coates has not declared a preference in the bid race, he is on a working group studying the possibility of awarding both the ’24 and ’28 Games to both L.A. and Paris.
