The Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castera has reacted to the controversy of recent days and to the statements of Anne Hidalgo. The Mayor of Paris made headlines with a statement about the transportation system, suggesting that some construction projects will not be completed in time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The minister’s response is firm, but also disappointed.
The exchanges continue between the Paris City Hall and the government. While Clément Beaune responded firmly regarding the situation of the Parisian transportation system, just eight months before the beginning of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it is now the turn of the Minister of Sports to respond to Anne Hidalgo.
On RTL this Sunday evening, Amélie Oudéa-Castera reacted to the mayor’s remarks from a few days earlier, stating that certain transportation systems would not be ready in time. Expressing “great confidence” in ongoing construction projects, the minister believes that Anne Hidalgo is working against her own team.
“I find that the recent events are quite regrettable,” said the Minister of Sports. “Wednesday evening, we saw the Mayor of Paris engaging in political maneuvering on TV, at the expense of the Games. On Thursday at the executive office of the Cojo (organizing committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games), she displayed unbelievable casualness, arriving late and leaving a quarter of an hour before the end, claiming she had a wedding and could not keep the bride and groom waiting just as I was about to answer her about what we had planned to do about the issue of homeless people in Paris. She had said that this issue concerned her, but apparently she is not interested in the response. And on Friday evening, this group of elected officials from Paris en Commun released a video with manipulated images of Valérie Pécresse, showing that she is working against her country’s team.”
“I have never disrespected her, and the same cannot be said for her,”
“We will be stronger than that. If we have to deliver the Games without her, we will deliver them without her. At worst, if we have to deliver them in spite of her, we will deliver them in spite of her,” concluded Amélie Oudéa-Castera. “I would like us to return to a spirit of teamwork. I have never had a problem with Anne Hidalgo. I work very well with her teams, I have never disrespected her, and the same cannot be said for her. I want everyone who has something to contribute to the success of these Games to do so. If she is not ready to do that, or if she wants to work against her team, we will be stronger than that and we will overcome this obstacle.”
