PARIS: Sat in his office at Paris Olympics headquarters, chief organiser Tony Estanguet says he is confident and “serene” despite the political maelstrom around him and the Games in France.

Snap elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron in early June have overshadowed the build up to the Olympics and plunged the country into political uncertainty.

The final round of the election last Sunday delivered a hung parliament with no clear majority, leading to doubts about whether key ministers will still be in their jobs when the Games open in less than a fortnight.

Estanguet told AFP that he is “relieved” the election was over despite an ongoing row between left-wing, centrist and far-right lawmakers as to who should form a new government.

“It was an important period for the country that we have completely respected,” he said of the voting. “The good news is that we didn’t suffer any delays and weren’t affected.”

After over six years in his job, the triple gold medal-winning canoeist is quick to dodge questions on what should happen now in parliament, but he does hint that continuity would be helpful.

“We owe this government a lot for what has been done for the last two years to succeed,” he said, before adding: “It’s true that sometimes it’s good to make things easy, but I have to emphasise that it’s not up to me to decide.”

Making things easy, Estanguet admits, has not been part of the vision for Paris 2024, which runs from July 26 to Aug 11.

The organising committee has opted for an unprecedented and wildly ambitious opening ceremony which will shun the usual format of a parade and fireworks at the athletics stadium.

Instead, it will take place on the river Seine, with 6,000-7,000 athletes set to sail through the City of Light on a flotilla of boats in front of a crowd of up to nearly half a million spectators.

Temporary venues have also been built at Paris’s top monuments, meaning much of the sport will take place in the centre of the city with the capital’s fabled landmarks in the background.

“I’ve pushed every day so that we have a mindset which is to be more ambitious, more audacious, to make a success of these Games so that they remain unforgettable,” the 46-year-old told AFP.

The Seine is causing last-minute suspense, however, with exceptionally heavy rain meaning full rehearsals for the opening ceremony have not taken place.

The storms have also led to regular discharges of sewage, raising doubts about whether the river can host the open-water swimming and triathlon, as scheduled.

“We remain serene about our capacity to deliver our vision for the Games and to have events in the Seine,” he said.

“Since the start of July, the quality of the Seine is good and we could have had the swimming and triathlon events every day,” he added.

In his role as chief organiser, the father of three says his hardest job has been trying to win over sceptics and the often pessimistic French.

“My role has been to protect our vision against everyone who criticises, those who don’t believe in it, those who would take pleasure in seeing it not go well,” he said.

He has spoken out repeatedly in the past against “Olympics bashing” and has sometimes appeared frustrated that many people fail to see the efforts made by him and his team to do the Olympics differently.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2024