French Alps 2030 organisers confirm departure of Grospiron as president

PARIS, Sept 10 - The organising committee for the 2030 French Alps Winter Olympics confirmed the departure of its president Edgar Grospiron on Thursday, 18 months after his appointment, raising fresh questions over the Games' governance.

Grospiron, the 1992 Olympic moguls champion, had been widely expected to leave and his departure was formalised at a meeting of the organising committee's executive board on Thursday.

"The Executive Board of the Alps 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games has taken note of Edgar Grospiron's decision to step down from his position as president," the organising committee said in a statement.

"His decision to leave the presidency is part of a planned, organised and fully assumed transition, taken in the interest of the project and its governance," it added.

"It reflects a shared desire with stakeholders to enable the organising committee to move quickly into this new operational phase."

Grospiron leaves six months after chief executive Cyril Linette stepped down, citing "insurmountable disagreements" between the pair. Vincent Roberti was appointed as Linette’s successor in May.

Grospiron came close to being ousted during the Milano Cortina Winter Games earlier this year, following a series of other senior departures, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Key Games stakeholders, including the French government, the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes regions, and the French Olympic and Paralympic committees, CNOSF and CPSF, told the International Olympic Committee in late August that "trust had been broken" with Grospiron, the source said.

The rupture followed a tense executive board meeting on July 23 at which Grospiron sought to push through two appointments, the source added.

Two days later, French Olympic Committee president Amelie Oudea-Castera told La Tribune Dimanche that the project was "once again facing governance problems".

Grospiron could not be immediately reached for comment.

The organising committee said an extraordinary general assembly on September 14 would put an interim presidency in place pending the appointment of Grospiron’s successor. REUTERS