Paris 2024: the Court of Auditors is impatient at not being able to assess the impact of the Games on public finances

It is said in a language very Cour des comptes. But that does not hide the annoyance. The financial magistrates are impatient to still not be “able to assess the overall cost” Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG) and “the final impact” that these will have on public finances in general, State and local authorities combined.

“The Court reiterates its recommendation that, beyond the financial model of Solideo [la société chargée de la construction des sites olympiques] and budget of the Cojop [le Comité d’organisation des Jeux], all investment and operating costs incurred for the Games and on the occasion of the Games are consolidated”write the magistrates in their new report on the preparation of the JOP, submitted to Parliament.

At the very least, 3 billion euros

The Court of Auditors had already deplored, in its previous report on the Games submitted to Parliament and made public in January, “the absence of an exhaustive and precise census, within the State as well as in the host communities, of the investment and operating expenditure linked to them”.

Pierre Moscovici, the First President of the financial institution, had however given an initial assessment when he was auditioned in January in the Senate : he had estimated at 2.4 billion euros the public share, at this stage, in the budgets of Solideo and Cojop, including 1.3 billion euros for the State and 1.1 billion euros for local communities.

He had estimated that the final cost for public finances “could approach 3 billion euros”including in particular “tax expenditures, security, health and transport expenditures”, which are not in the budgets of Cojop and Solidéo.

Mr. Moscovici had also specified that the Court of Auditors, “ in connection with the regional chambers of accounts, will be interested in the expenditure of local authorities” involved in the organization of the Games.

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The cost of the security of the Games “remains to be established” for the State

Still, the costs related to security, for example, which will be borne by the State, are still not clearly identified. “With regard to the State budget, the monitoring of the cost of security for the Games remains to be established”, write the financial magistrates in their latest report.

The latter regret that this subject has not “led to no concrete progress since” January. “No progress has been made in identifying public expenditure outside the budgets of Solideo and Cojop and in the budgets of local authorities”they add.

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