The president met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach in Ouchy.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Macron greeted crowds as he walked to the Olympic Museum on Ouchy's lakefront.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
There, he took a tour alongside his wife Brigitte and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, among other dignitaries from the Paris bid.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
The president's visit came under a literal cloud as storms hit the city of Lausanne on Monday afternoon.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
During his speech, Macron said he was representing a Paris team bolstered by “the complete unity of the country”.
“In a fractured world where tensions are resurgent, we need the values of peace and tolerance that the Olympic movement illustrates and embodies strongly,” the French president said, flanked by Bach.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Paris has emerged as the clear front-runner for 2024, with fellow bidder Los Angeles hinting it may be prepared to wait four more years.
Los Angeles' mayor Eric Garcetti — also in town to support LA's bid — had a separate tour of the museum with Bach and Los Angeles bid leaders, including former sprint champion Michael Johnson.
The mayor said his goal was to “bring America back to the Olympics and the Olympics back to America”.
“In this crazy moment in the world, when so much is unsure let's bring what we know to be true and good and that is the Olympic movement”, he added.
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