Hollande wants a Grand Prix in Corrèze

The polls continue to show Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande crossing paths in the first round of the presidential election, and now the socialist candidate unexpectedly involves himself in an issue where he wasn’t necessarily expected: the French Grand Prix.

While France can count on three representatives on the starting grids, it struggles to reach an agreement regarding the organization of a race. On Friday, Prime Minister François Fillon was at the Castellet circuit to confirm what everyone already knew, namely that the process is moving slowly and that the financial aspect remains an issue.

Another key element in France’s return to the Formula 1 calendar: alternating with another country. Belgium was considered for a long time, but the Walloon authorities seem determined to keep Spa-Francorchamps every year. The other option would be Spain, but nothing has been confirmed in this regard.

And what if the miracle solution was an internal rotation? Indeed, as François Fillon explained, the French state will not fund the project and it will therefore be up to local authorities to find the budget for organizing the Grand Prix. So why not have two sites that would share the F1 every other year? This is in any case the idea supported by François Hollande, who would like to see the paddock set up in his department, Corrèze.

« F1 is a major sporting event that would allow France to showcase what it is capable of in terms of infrastructure and organization. Additionally, with three French drivers in this discipline and a manufacturer that has been world champion several times, it seems obvious to me that everything must be done for France to regain its place on the calendar, » explains the Socialist candidate to the AFP agency.

The choice of Corrèze is obviously not innocent since it is François Hollande’s stronghold. « An event of this magnitude should highlight the specificities of France, and I think that Corrèze represents well the values and the numerous riches our country holds, » emphasizes Hollande, who also explains that such a project will create many jobs.

« It is true that all this will have a significant cost, but we must also consider the fact that it will promote employment both in the short and long term. Beyond the purely sporting aspect, it is clear that such a project will constitute an important economic hub, and that should be the objective, » adds François Hollande.

It is true that if the project supported by the socialist were to be approved, everything would have to be built from A to Z, from the circuit to the access roads, not to mention the hotels, etc. But this is no cause for alarm for the candidate.

There is no reason to worry about the work this would entail. If the French Grand Prix returns to the world championship calendar, it will not be before 2014 at Le Castellet. We should be ready by 2015, which gives us plenty of time to finalize everything.

The only thing left to do is hope that Bernie Ecclestone, who loathed the Magny-Cours circuit lost in the middle of the countryside, will be more receptive to the rural charm of Corrèze…

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