“A tartiflette without bacon”, “Paris without the Eiffel Tower” or even “a match in London outside Twickenham”. No metaphor is vivid enough for Patrick Martin, mayor of Val d’Isère to describe the Winter Olympics without the participation of his resort. Last week, it was excluded from the French Alps project to host the Winter Olympics in 2030. For the elected official, very disappointed, this decision is “inconceivable”.
“Ski racing is here,” he said Thursday during a press conference about his Critérium de la première neige, the traditional French stage of the Alpine Ski World Cup which takes place takes place this weekend. “It’s something that’s in our genes, our DNA,” he added.
“A Games without Val d’Isère would have less flavor”
Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) created a surprise by announcing that the French Alps’ candidacy was the only one still in the running to host the Olympic Games in 2030, a giant step towards organizing the first Winter Games. in France since those of Albertville in 1992. “We were happy. It is the recognition first of France, then of the Alps and then of Val d’Isère,” said Patrick Martin.
But it’s a cold shower 48 hours later with a “phone call from Laurent Wauquiez [le président de la région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes] at 6 p.m. on Friday to tell us that it would be very complicated, that the IOC is asking for a grouping of sites and that as a result Val d’Isère and Isola 2000 had been withdrawn. That’s how I learned it. »
“I was told on Wednesday that the Olympic Games will take place in France and that we are entering into a targeted dialogue. For me, a targeted dialogue is a conversation […] We say to ourselves that we have nine months to discuss and there, we have the impression that the conversation is already over,” he lamented. “I just want to be part of the round table that discusses the project,” he added. “A Games without Val d’Isère would have less flavor. They will take place, they will not have the same flavor. » The elected official affirmed that he had written to the Minister of Sports, the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic to highlight the assets of his station. He will also have the opportunity to discuss it on Saturday with Laurent Wauquiez, who is traveling to Val d’Isère.