The opposition – and particularly that of the right – won.
Carefully consulted by the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, the Saudi request to install an Olympic village for its athletes at Les Invalides was finally refused.
There will be no Saudi Olympic village in Les Invalides.
To discover
Paris 2024: the map of Olympic sites
According to information from
Europe 1
, the Ministry of the Armed Forces indicated to its Saudi interlocutors that France “was not able to respond to their request” to have their athletes stay at Les Invalides, during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, rather than at the official village, inaugurated in February.
A project contested by the opposition
This Saudi wish, initially kept secret, was debated in the chamber of the National Assembly on February 28, when LR MP Nathalie Serre asked for “
clarifications
” from the government.
The installation desired by Saudi Arabia - which is investing massively in France, which Lecornu had defended - was to last four months, starting in May.