The World Briefly

June 22, 2023

Corruption Curse

France

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French financial authorities raided the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics Committee this week over allegations of corruption in the awarding of public contracts, Politico reported.

Officials said the searches are taking place at a number of locations, including the headquarters of the Olympics Committee and those of Solideo, the public body in charge of the Paris Olympics’ construction sites.

They explained that the raids are part of two “preliminary investigations” over suspicions of the misappropriation of public funds and favoritism in the awarding of a number of public contracts by both Solideo and the Olympics Committee.

Financial police also conducted searches in the offices of other companies that were awarded contracts.

Olympic officials announced they were aware of the raids and that they are “cooperating fully” with authorities.

The Olympic Games in Paris are set to take place next year from July 26 to Aug. 11.

Observers noted that the allegations risk damaging the reputation of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has emphasized the significance of holding a successful Paris Olympics.

The French capital was chosen to host the Games in July 2017, shortly after Macron’s election.

In March, Macron said the Paris Games’ goal should be to “welcome the world in the best possible conditions of safety, organization, social and ecological responsibility.”

Meanwhile, organizational misconduct has tarred prior Olympic Games.

For example, a scandal tainted the Tokyo Summer Olympics of 2020 when a prominent advertising executive from Japan was apprehended on multiple counts of bribery, involving illicit payments received from officials of different companies.

This story originally appeared in the June 22, 2023 newsletter, Pushing For Normal.