"We are 105 days away from the Paris Games, where the stakes are high for all of us. Paris wants to bring the Olympic spirit out of the stadiums, from the opening ceremony along 6 km of the Seine to the competitions at La Concordia, the Champ de Mars or Versailles. It's a new exercise and the French have done it very well. We have great hopes that it will go well," said Juan Antonio Samaranch.

"It is very important that the Games go well. These are the days when the search for differences between people prevails over the search for what we have in common. Politics, society and social networks are looking for these differences," stressed Samaranch. The Olympics, however, "is one of the few examples of the world's young people being more united than they have been made out to be".

"The Games are a symbol that is needed to change this terrible dynamic," he stressed. "In Paris, Israeli and Palestinian athletes will be present, living together. Ukrainians and those with independent Russian passports will be there, all under the same roof," said the vice-president, son of the former IOC president of the same name, who has therefore "had the privilege of attending thirteen Games".

Security has always been a top priority for Paris 2024. The current global risk and alert situation, particularly in France, requires increased precautions. Samaranch reiterated his "full confidence in the French state" in terms of security. "It is not up to us in the IOC to say whether or not there should be a gendarme at this door or that door," he concluded.