Is this the end of the series? From the controversy linked to the construction of a tower for the surfing event of the Paris Games next summer on the most beautiful waves at Teahupoo. Following a meeting held on November 15 in Tahiti, the Polynesian government, state representatives and organizers announced that they were redesigning the project, reducing the surface area and weight of the tower, from 14 to 9 tonnes, to respond to local protests.
“The solution that we are proposing today, in the unanimous opinion of the committee of experts, is the best possible,” the president of Polynesia told AFP on Monday, on the sidelines of the mayors’ fair in Paris.
“I am not saying that it is an ideal solution, but it is the one that presents the minimal impact on all of the 12 options that we were able to analyze, with five main options and variants. At some point we are bound by deadlines. We must make a choice and this choice is that of reason,” he added.
He himself had put the pressure on by proposing another site for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), less renowned but easier to access than Teahupoo, known worldwide for its famous wave and its transparent waters, if a solution was not found.
He assured Monday that he had received “initial reactions” from associations, several of which were concerned about degradation of the coral and the seabed.
“Two spoke saying that they understood, not that they supported, but that they accepted the solution that was proposed, that they would follow the developments in the days and weeks that come because it It will now be about implementing this solution,” he explained.
The association behind a petition opposing the installation of the judges’ tower, which had collected more than 164,000 signatures on the Internet on Monday, “for the moment has not really expressed itself”, Mr. Brotherson admitted. “I received them before we communicated about this option, detailing exactly the option that had been chosen, and they told me that they were sticking to their positions. We are waiting for them to express themselves,” he added.
“We are going to offer associations the opportunity to be involved in each stage of the implementation of this solution so that they can see with their own eyes and not simply trust us,” he added.
Mr. Brotherson is due to meet the Overseas Minister Philippe Vigier on Monday and the Minister of Sports and Olympics, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, on Thursday. The latter went with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin this summer to Polynesia, and recently indicated that she would go there again in December.
