The Arena at Porte de la Chapelle, in the north of Paris, will bear the name of the Adidas company well. The Council of Paris decided on Friday, July 8, after a long, muscular debate which pitted the elected Socialists of the majority led by Anne Hidalgo against their environmentalist and communist allies, on the one hand, and the right, on the other hand. It is however the abstention of this one which allowed the adoption of the new denomination.
“We will abstainannounced Rudoph Granier from the outset, for the group Republicans, centrists and independents, because the respect of the commitments of this assembly are all the same a little stronger than all the litanies that one can read in the press or hear here. » In fact, two deliberations voted in 2019 and in 2020 had already limited the room for maneuver of the advisers of Paris. That said, the right did not fail to criticize the action of the municipal team. The use of Adidas money indeed highlights, according to Rudolph Granier, “the catastrophic state of the city’s finances”.
The deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sports and the Olympics took the opportunity to denounce the position of the right, accused of “tance” the executive on the financial balance of the project while refusing the call to Adidas. Gold, “these pieces of equipment are structurally difficult to balance”recalled Pierre Rabadan.
“A cultural question” posed
And the German company is putting a lot of money on the table. The contract, for a period of five years, will represent 2.6 million euros per year, recalled Emmanuel Coblenz, councilor of the municipal majority. “It is without equivalent in France, and even in Europe”, he pointed out. Especially since it is accompanied by“an additional fee of 260,000 euros per year for the benefit of the city”. And “more than 180,000 euros per year are also dedicated to sports associations and clubs in the 18e borough “he said, wondering: “Can we seriously imagine doing without these resources? »
Yes, answered the left, considering in essence that not everything is for sale. Communist adviser, Nicolas Bonnet-Oulaldj recalled that attributing the name of a company to public equipment posed “a cultural issue” : “that of the sale of public space. The stadiums, sports halls and performance halls are symbolic markers of the city. Their name and their architecture are urban landmarks of our civilisation. »
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