The Green mayor of Lyon, Grégory Doucet, believes that “all international competitions need to be developed” and has declared himself in favour of Games “for the protection of the mountains.”
The Green mayor of Lyon, Gregory Doucet, has said he is in favour of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps if they are “of the JO synonyms for mountain protection», in an interview Thursday with La Tribune. “We have an opportunity in 2030 to show that we can make the Olympics synonymous with protection and love of the mountains. If, on the contrary, they were synonymous with covering with metal masts to make artificial snow, then I wouldn’t want that,” explains the mayor.
“The question is, beyond 2030, will they still be able to take place? It is legitimate to ask the question, given the warming of the planet’s climate.”he pleads. The elected official from Lyon believes that it is necessary “develop all these major international competitions (…) because that is the condition for being able to maintain them. We must build the Olympic Games of tomorrow, so that the day after tomorrow there will still be some,” adds the green elected official.
The French Alps were awarded the 2030 Winter Olympics at the end of July, but “under condition” to provide the financial guarantees of the State and the regions voted by Parliament by next March. Mr. Doucet said he wrote to the new LR president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Fabrice Pannekoucke (successor to Laurent Wauquiez who became a deputy), “to talk about these issues” because “There is always interest in reaching out and engaging in discussion to be a contributor”he said.
“I think we need to set a framework right away: that of protecting the mountain. This could lead us, as we did for the surfing events at the Paris Olympics, to organize certain events elsewhere if there is not enough snow, or even not to hold them.”adds the mayor. After the IOC’s decision to award the 2030 Olympic Games to the French Alps, the environmental group at the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council and several elected officials from the region deplored the “precipitation” of this decision, by denouncing a candidacy “not serious”. The budget for this one “is constantly evolving, its financial and environmental consequences could be serious for the State, which is already going through a difficult situation, and for local authorities who will have to assume the consequences”put forward in particular five Green deputies from the region, including Cyrielle Chatelain, and the mayor of Grenoble Eric Piolle.
