French investigators raided the offices of the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/2023/07/27/countdown-to-the-olympics-arab-athletes-who-could-shine-at-paris-2024/" target="_blank">2024 Paris Olympic Games</a> organisers and event management companies involved in the opening ceremony. The raids took place on Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged favouritism in the awarding of contracts linked to the Olympics, reports say. The searches are part of investigations – led by the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) – into contracts awarded for the Games. "Paris 2024 confirms that the PNF attended its headquarters on Wednesday, October 18 and obtained all of the information that it asked for. Paris 2024 is co-operating fully with the investigation as it has always done," the organising committee said in a statement. The first raids took place in June, targeting the organising committee's headquarters and the offices of Solideo, the company responsible for the construction of Olympic sites. A judicial source said the raids were part of an investigation into suspicion of "illegal taking of interest, favouritism and concealment" in the award of several contracts. Investigators also raided the homes of two of high-ranking officials, Etienne Thobois, the chief executive of Paris 2024, and Edouard Donnelly, the executive director of operations, and the offices of a consulting firm the two men founded. The Paris Olympics take place from July 26 to August 11.
