Amélie Oudéa-Castéra: "We will be ready"

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the French Minister for Sport, says that the organisation of the Paris Olympic Games is on schedule. In an interview with BFMTV, she highlighted the work carried out by the various players in the fields of transport and security, and confirmed the target of around twenty gold medals for French athletes.

Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, Marc Guillaume, Préfet de Paris, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, French Minister of Sport, and Thierry Reboul, Brand, Creativity and Engagement Executive Director of Paris 2024. GETTY IMAGES

The Minister for Sport, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, repeats her optimistic message seven months before the opening of the Paris Games. "Yes, we will be ready. As a team, we are working very hard to be ready. The Games are now 206 days away, just under seven months, and we'll be ready in every aspect of the organisation."

Asked by BFMTV about the various sensitive issues involved in organising the Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra gave a number of progress reports. "We are not behind schedule in the delivery of the various infrastructures," she assured.

A few weeks ago, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, had highlighted the difficulties of public transport, but the Minister was keen to reassure. A lot of work is being done," she insists. "All the venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are going to be served in satisfactory conditions, with 100% public transport solutions, so that we can also meet our environmental ambitions".

"We are doing everything we can to ensure that security is at the top of the agenda. With 30,000 police officers and 10,000 military personnel mobilised every day as part of Operation Sentinelle, security is another challenge for the capital. We also have private security, which is an important element," adds Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.

"We're doing everything we can to ensure that security is at the highest level, with all the prefects with territorial jurisdiction, because we're going to have to secure different competition sites all over France".

She also reiterated France's sporting ambitions: "Our goal is to be among the top 5 most decorated nations. We know we're capable of doing that and playing at home will give us the advantage of 15, 16, 17, 18 titles and between 16 and 18 gold medals, which will put us in the top 5 most decorated nations". For the Paralympic Games, the minister is aiming for more than twenty titles.