Macron, who has promised an “unforgettable” curtain-raiser, hosted the Olympics’ organisers and business partners at the Élysée Palace to discuss preparations for the world’s biggest sporting event.
He addresses several hundred civil servants involved in the effort in a speech at Paris police headquarters, on the banks of the River Seine, later Tuesday.
On the eve of his visit, Macron teased the event by tweeting the cover of Time Magazine’s latest issue, headlined on the race to clean up “the world’s most romantic river”. “With 500 days to go, we are within reach of achieving one of the greatest legacies of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris,” the French president wrote, referencing a hugely ambitious 1.4-billion-euro plan to clean up the heavily polluted waterway in time for the Games.
Rendre la Seine et la Marne baignables. C'est notre objectif pour 2024. 1,4 milliard d'euros investis, dont la moitié par l’État.À J-500, nous sommes en passe de réussir ce qui sera l'un des plus beaux héritages des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques de Paris 2024.