2023-12-08 16:49:19
“I came to apologize to Teahupo’o for what happened. » Traveling on the Tahitian peninsula on Sunday, December 3, the Polynesian president, Moetai Brotherson, tried to respond to the concerns of local residents. The day before, a video posted by environmental protection associations – which has since been viewed more than 250,000 times – testified to the destruction of coral blocks by a barge linked to the construction site of the tower supposed to accommodate the judges of the surfing events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next summer. An aluminum structure 14 meters high, in the middle of the lagoon. Work on the Teahupo’o site has since stopped, and the situation looks like a thorn in the side of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Games (Cojo), seven months before the deadline.
A lack of consultation
Everything had started so well. In 2020, Tony Estanguet, president of Cojo, defended tooth and nail Tahiti’s place as host city for the Games. “The Tahiti site offered the best conditions for the athletes. It’s the best French spot at this time of year, it’s also a nod to the origins of surfing in France. he confided to the newspaper The world. “We carried out a complete carbon assessment of the five applications, including all travel, including that of the athletes if we repatriate them to Paris for the second week of the Games and the closing ceremony. The results of the file submitted by Tahiti are in the low range of the proposed projects. » The candidacy of the Polynesian archipelago had thus attracted the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which saw there the opportunity “to invite the most beautiful wave in the world to the Games”.
But three years later, residents and environmental protection associations are still unwaveringly opposed to the project. Surfing stars, like multi-medalist American Kelly Slater, have joined the protests. “It doesn’t make sense to need such a giant tower for a two-day event”thus judged the world champion on social networks.
“From the moment we start to develop the coastline, there is always an environmental impact” recalls Maël Besson, expert in ecological transition of sport, for whom the Teahupo’o situation also recalls an older example. “In 2015, a collective mobilized against the construction of a judges’ tower, again, around Lake Aiguebelette (in Savoie, Editor’s note), with a view to the world rowing championships in 2015. It was then the same debate. » When the decision for Tahiti was made in 2020, it was the assurance of having the ideal weather conditions to host the events. Added to this “a whole bunch of political criteria, particularly to favor territories like Polynesia”, recalls Maël Besson. “ On paper, obviously, it is positive, but consultation with residents, in the long term, must become the norm for any discussion prior to decisions. »
The threat of leaving Tahiti
Could the pending situation lead to the events being moved elsewhere than in the archipelago? Several mainland sites, such as Lacanau (Gironde) and La Torche (Finistère), have already positioned themselves to host the events. During his trip to the site, Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson, torn between the demanding specifications of the Games and the discontent of the local population, affirmed that moving the competition to another Tahitian wave was not possible. “since it was Teahupo’o’s candidacy which was submitted”. And stressed that moving the event to a wave in France would amount to “several billion Pacific francs” (several million euros). “The arguments about economic benefits are no longer understandable because the consequences of climate change will in any case call into question and wipe out these economic benefits”retorts for his part Maël Besson.
Officially, the Ministry of Sports remains in its position: Tahiti will welcome surfing next summer. “There is no plan B, Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra declared to AFP. We are on this path which is really the right one to have a new resized judges’ tower”and which corresponds to “requests made by the locals”. Behind the scenes, a source at the ministry indicates that “all options are on the table, even if a move would necessarily be an admission of failure.”
Cojo is buying time but says he is ready to discuss the project again. “There is no obvious solution to this issue”recognizes Maël Besson. “The Organizing Committee is taken by the requirements and specifications of the IOC which requires this or that infrastructure to ensure the smooth running of the events. In this case, the Cojo had the right reaction by showing itself ready to discuss, but it is not that easy to combine legitimate environmental demands with the demands of the IOC. » In other words, it is perhaps up to the international body to review its criteria.
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