But what are these two acolytes doing in good brand overcoats under the steel beams of a Palais omnisports de Bercy under construction? In five days, Parisians vote for the first round of municipal elections, so Mayor Jacques Chirac is busy on the banks of the Seine. The place is dear to his heart. He intends to provide Paris and France with a very large venue (up to 17,000 seats) capable of hosting major tournaments in twenty-four disciplines and XXL shows by music stars. The 140 m long and 35 m high behemoth is erected on the wasteland of the old wine market. For the photo, the RPR boss invited his protégé Guy Drut, Olympic champion of the 110 m hurdles in 1976 in Montreal, Gaullist of conviction and Chirac candidate in the district where the Bercy district is located. Twelve days later, Jacques Chirac was re-elected without a second thought.
The Bercy file was conducted with a great deal of energy. Studies launched in 1979, works started in 1981, the inauguration took place on February 3, 1984 for the Six Days of Paris where various stars (Moser, Roche, Zoetemelk...) competed. The first concert was given by the heavy metal band Scorpions. The original architecture impressed the general public, who appreciated the grassy facades. L'Équipe described it as "a temple of sport in keeping with the prestige of the capital, an Aztec pyramid on the outside, a cathedral on the inside".
The companionship between the two men would last for many years. "I owe him my career in politics", confided the former athlete, elected deputy in 1986 then appointed Minister of Sports (1995-1997) under the presidency of his mentor, godfather of his eldest daughter. In 2006, when he was at the Élysée Palace, Jacques Chirac pardoned him from a 15-month suspended prison sentence and a 50,000 euro fine for fictitious employment in the Île-de-France public procurement affair. This created an outcry in the judiciary and the political sphere. Guy Drut thus keeps his seat on the IOC.
CHRISTOPHE LARCHER
