Paris council on Friday approved the name Adidas Arena for the future Olympic complex currently under construction in the north of the capital, despite opposition from mayor Anne Hidalgo’s environmentalists and communist allies.
The debate over this “naming” showed the rift between the practice between the socialists who favor it and their left-wing allies with whom they run the city.
Pierre Rabadan, Member of Parliament for Sports and Olympics (PS and related), saw his bill passed only thanks to the abstention of the right and center opposition (33 in favour, 17 against and 26 abstentions).
The future 7,800-seat enclosure, located in Porte de la Chapelle in the 18th arrondissement, will host badminton and gymnastics events during the 2024 Olympics and will therefore bear the name Adidas Arena for five years, according to the terms of the contract. German and renewable for seven years.
In return, the three-stripes brand will pay the city around 2.8 million euros per year, of which 180,000 will go to sports projects linked to this famous district in the north of Paris.
“We have to make the least bad choice every day.”defended the district’s elected socialite Maya Akkar, for whom “The income generated by this ‘name’ will improve our public operations, serving Parisians in general and the residents of the district.“.
Another elected deputy, Emmanuel Coblentz, highlighted the “equal amount in France and even in Europe” of this treaty.
An argument that did not convince the communists, who for years demanded that the future equipment bear the name of the pioneer of women’s sports, Alice Miliat, to whom the city would give the name of the Arena’s forecourt as compensation.
“Today, no land should escape with a brand seal.”lamented Nicolas Bonnet-Oulalge (PCF), for whom the city passes.”next to the story» under this name “Straight from the Practice of Liberalism”.
Another itchy hair-trigger from Anne Hidalgo CEO Emile Meunier ( EELV ) laments the “massive big brand advertising” for which the city is “rolling out the red carpet.”
LR and a related group that had been hesitant to kill the project ultimately refrained, particularly because of the “disastrous state of the city’s finances,” explained Rudolph Granier, another elected official in the 18th District.
Source: Le Figaro