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Paris 2024: the map of Olympic sites
In the land of money that corrupts, of money that buys, of money that crushes, of money that kills, of money that ruins, and of money that rots even the conscience of men, to repeat the famous tirade of François Mitterrand at the Epinay congress of 1971, the controversy over the salary of the boss of the Paris 2024 Games was expected. In France, money has never had good press. Tony Estanguet is therefore the subject of several investigations, including two carried out by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office for suspicion of favoritism and embezzlement. Always on the lookout for scandal, the television magazine “Complément d’investigation” has just reported on it.
Also read: Valérie Pécresse: “We must not be afraid to walk” during the Paris 2024 Olympics
The former Olympic canoe medalist, in office for seven years at the head of the organizing committee for the 2024 Games, earns 300,000 euros net per year, bonuses included. That is the equivalent of 25,000 euros per month. The sum is tidy but much lower than the remuneration of a CEO of a public company, capped since the Sapin law of 2016 at 450,000 euros per year. However, Tony Estanguet occupies comparable positions, with a large number of employees (around 4,000), multiple responsibilities, permanent media exposure and an obligation to achieve results that not all business leaders have. The slightest hitch can cost him his place, overnight, before and during the competition. It must also be added that his remuneration was decided and validated by an ad hoc committee, in complete transparency, from 2018 and that once the Olympic and Paralympic Games are over, he will have to give up his apron!
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It is normal that the Paris 2024 Games organizing committee and its president are held accountable. Let us also wonder about the progression of its payroll over time. But must all this necessarily be dressed up in a setting forcing suspicion and denigration, opening the way to bad controversy and a presumption of guilt? Certainly not.
See you next week,
Yves Thréard