French President Emmanuel Macron made it clear on Tuesday that he was not taking victory in the city's 2024 Olympic bid for granted, a day after rival bidder Los Angeles agreed to seek the 2028 Games instead.
Macron "remains very committed to win the bid for our country, along with all the French people, sportspeople, local authorities and all the partners involved in this bid," Macron's office said after he spoke to International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
Paris and Los Angeles had been vying for the rights to host the Games in 2024, but in July the IOC decided to award the 2024 and 2028 games in a single decision at a session to be held on September 13 in Lima.
The Paris team held out for the 2024 Games, saying that their planned Olympic Village site could not be held open for the later date and that their guarantees from central and regional government were specific to 2024.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had hinted at greater flexibility, and that seemed to come through with Bach's announcement on Monday evening that Los Angeles would bid for the 2028 Games.
Garcetti said that his city would receive 160 million dollars for youth sports programming ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
But while the Paris bid team made it clear that they were not going to rest on their laurels ahead of the decisive meeting of the IOC in Lima on September 13, they did allow themselves a pat on the back.
"This morning we are more than ever #ReadyFor24," bid chairman Tony Estanguet wrote on Twitter. "Proud to be part of the @Paris2024 team. The Games get closer to [France];)."
Macron, too, was "delighted by this very important step towards obtaining the Games for France in 2024," his office said.
The Paris bid team has played up the ease of access of its locations as a major selling point.
The planned Olympic Village will be located in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, centred around the Cite du Cinema film studios.
Most of the game sites will be located in two main clusters: around the nearby Stade de France, the country's premier stadium with a seating capacity of more than 81,000; and in central Paris.
The latter will include triathlon and water sports competitions at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and road cycling on the Champs-Elysees.
The swimming, show-jumping, shooting and running components of the modern pentathlon are planned for the former royal palace of Versailles.
Some 85 per cent of athletes will be able to reach their competition sites from the village inside 25 minutes, according to the team.
All the sites, including those further afield, will be accessible by public transport, and no more than 45 minutes journey from central Paris.
LA and Paris were both declared strong candidates in a recent report by the 2024 evaluation commission, and IOC chief Bach has highlighted that both were planning on using a record number of existing and temporary facilities in line with Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms.
A three-way agreement between Paris, Los Angeles and the IOC will likely will determine whether or not the two cities still need to make big and costly formal presentations in Lima in September.
Both cities made presentations to IOC members on July 11, with Macron present to lobby for Paris.
The first double awarding since 1921 - when Paris got 1924 and Amsterdam 1928 - has both cities available in difficult times for the IOC, and gives Olympians time to reshape the bid process.
Huge costs have overshadowed recent bids and Games, and several cities have dropped out of bid campaigns - including, for 2024: Boston, Budapest, Hamburg and Rome.
Bach has said the bid process has too many losers and that less money must be spent.
By Pol O Gradaigh
