(ATR) A Paris Olympic bid inched closer following a public opinion poll showing the majority of French people support the Games.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents to a CSA Institute survey for newspaper Direct Matin back plans to bring the Games back to the French capital. The city, which missed out on the 2012 Olympics to London, has not staged the Games since 1924.
The poll published Tuesday reveals that 76 percent of Parisians want the Games with 36 percent saying they are "quite" favorable.
The findings come two days before Bernard Lapasset, president of the French Committee of International Sport (CFSI), presents the results of a feasibility study on a Paris 2024 bid at city hall.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has so far expressed a reluctance to fully back a bid. She said a final decision will be made in June. But positive outcomes from the feasibility study on Thursday may persuade her to throw her support behind the bid.
She told BFM TV on Tuesday that she still had reservations about a bid: "I love games and I love sport. I am pragmatic. First, I put things on the table and I study.
"I'm not saying yes or no on a whim," Hidalgo said.
"If we can win, we'll go for them. I want to see the business model on the ecological impact and on governance."
Hidalgo said she will consider the strengths and weaknesses of a bid outlined in the CFSI report.
"I will consider that. I will consult. I'm going around the mayors of the greater Paris area," she said.
After Thursday’s meeting of the French sports movement, Hidalgo plans to gauge feedback from the business community about an Olympic bid.
"There can be no submission without a contribution of the business community. I want to see their position about the Games or 2025 World Expo," she said.
"At one point we need to choose. We are not obliged to do so right away. But we have to make a decision about the Games in June."
Boston and Rome are so far the only confirmed bidders for the 2024 Olympics. A bid from Berlin or Hamburg is expected with possible bids also coming from Baku, Budapest and Qatar.
The IOC deadline for applications is Sept. 15, with the vote on the host city taking place in 2017.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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