Should Paris be selected to host the 2024 Olympics, France is well equipped to stage a safe Games because of the security measures that are in place after the recent terror attacks, president François Hollande said on Sunday, reports Reuters.
Los Angeles and Budapest are the only other candidates left in the running to host the 2024 Games after Virginia Raggi pulled the plug on Rome's bid shortly after being elected mayor of the Italian capital. Boston and Hamburg had already abandoned their bids.
"We want to remind you, and you know it, that France is able to host big events - recently with Euro 2016 but also with some 40 world and European championships across all sports these past years," Hollande said as he welcomed International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach at the Elysée Palace.
"We have the savoir faire and the technology for big events but we can also ensure appropriate safety. We have ensured security for the events I just mentioned. It is our main priority and everyone can understand why," he added.
France has been struck by a series of attacks in the past 20 months, with 130 being killed in coordinated assaults claimed by the Islamic State in Paris on Nov. 13 last year before a truck attacker killed 84 in Nice on Bastille Day this year.
"I don't know how the world will be in 2024 but it will be dangerous. There is no country, no capital that can think they will be protected, immune from this," said Hollande.