The investigation into allegations of favouritism against a senior official of the Paris 2024 Games, Michaël Aloïsio, was closed in January, the national financial prosecutor's office (PNF) told AFP. The case was closed "without further action on 18 January for lack of a criminal offence", the prosecutor's office confirmed. "The elements used did not give rise to any suspicion of violation of the principles of equal treatment of candidates, transparency of procedures or free access to public procurement, nor of influence peddling," the PNF said. 

The defendant's lawyer, Julie Fabreguettes, said she was pleased with the decision: "This decision to close the case was expected: it was necessary in the face of an imaginary and defamatory complaint". The investigation by the public prosecutor against Mr Aloïsio, Deputy Director General of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee (COJO), had begun in September 2023.

The investigation followed a complaint of favouritism and influence peddling lodged at the end of August by Sébastien Chesbeuf. This former COJO employee, now a consultant in the organisation of sports events, whose lawyer did not immediately respond to AFP, was at odds with Mr Aloïsio. The complaint alleges that the terms of a public contract awarded by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Paca) region in 2023 to prepare its bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics were manipulated and accuses Mr Aloïsio of favouring another agency founded by a current Paris 2024 executive. 

Mr Chesbeuf, who working as a consultant for the sports events company Keneo, claimed that Mr Aloïsio had intervened with the office of the president of the Paca region, Renaud Muselier, to dissuade him from working with them and to favour RNK, a company co-founded by Edouard Donnelly at the end of 2020. 

The latter left the company in November 2022 when he joined COJO as Executive Operations Director, raising suspicions of conflicts of interest. The organisation of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games is currently the subject of four separate financial investigations, including the remuneration of its top executive, Mr Tony Estanguet, and other contracts signed. Among the contracts under scrutiny are those for the iconic opening ceremony on the Seine in Paris on 26 July 2024 and the Olympic torch relay.