French Grand Prix: Is Le Castellet Losing Momentum?

If the position of the President of the Republic and the government team is known, it remains that meetings are and will be held around the organization of a French Grand Prix. On June 4th, a delegation composed of several local elected officials from Var, including Marc Giraud, 1st vice-president of the General Council of Var, Gabriel Tambon, mayor of Le Castellet, and Jacques Bianchi, president of the Var Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met with Valérie Fourneyron, the Minister of Sports in Jean-Marc Ayrault’s Government.

In a statement published on the website of the Var Department, titled “Will the French Grand Prix at Le Castellet take place?”, this delegation claims not to have been convinced of the new government’s willingness to uphold the commitments made by the State to organize a French F1 Grand Prix at Le Castellet. An introduction that is pessimistic at best in a matter that had indeed been a priority at the end of François Fillon’s government’s term. For its part, the new executive has repeatedly expressed its desire to reduce overall expenses and, more specifically, that the State should not pay a single euro cent for the organization of a Grand Prix on French territory.

The Var elected officials take advantage of this statement to highlight the positive points of such a project: « The impact of such an event is extremely significant. It can be estimated at more than 1,000 job creations per year, revenues of more than 50 million euros, not to mention the induced effects in terms of attractiveness, outreach, and image for a region. » Points that President François Hollande himself emphasized between the two rounds, with our colleagues from the Journal du Centre: « On the principle of the return of a French Grand Prix, I am in favor. It is a sport that attracts a large audience and has economic consequences. »

The major issue remains the almost inevitable deficit that the State would have to guarantee. The press release does not conceal it, while carefully avoiding discussing it in those terms, reminding that the legal proceedings around this project have already taken place concerning certain local structures: The communities signing the Public Interest Group led by the State had committed, at its request, to subsidize this event for a maximum total amount of 10 million euros every 2 years for 10 years. Financial estimates that Valérie Fourneyron does not consider sincere, adding that the communities were not well informed by the State about the reality of the negotiation with Bernie Ecclestone.

The interview was likely relatively tense, as the statement mentioned a reminder in the form of a warning from Mr. Marc Giraud: He did not fail to remind the Minister of all partners’ commitment to the principle of state continuity, with its word engaged in this matter vis-à-vis the local authorities to which it has asked for a significant effort. He also demanded that the Minister, through her services, promptly provide an expert report, considering it the State’s responsibility, as the initiator of this project, to assume all its responsibilities. It remains to be seen whether the Government, from a different majority, can feel bound by the actions of its predecessors, as French politics rarely experiences alternation in continuity.

The press release, however, ends with a sentence suggesting that the prospect of a Grand Prix in France is not being sidelined: « The Minister informed the Var delegation of an upcoming meeting she would have with the officials of the Magny Cours circuit… » A subtle way to emphasize that the title of this document was about the Grand Prix at Castellet, and only at Castellet.

Above all, the announcement of this upcoming meeting, which will take place this Friday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. with Serge Saulnier, director of the Nivernais circuit, Guy Ligier, and Nicolas Deschaux, president of the French Motorsports Federation (FFSA), is not without echoing the statements of Vincent Darbeau, motorsport specialist at the Journal du Centre, on May 1, when François Hollande had just visited Nevers: « Bernie [Ecclestone]’s position on the Magny-Cours circuit is often relayed, except that the person concerned has never directly addressed Magny-Cours, whose highway access is complete, direct from Paris to the circuit. Regarding the works, they only consist of an expansion of the pits and a covering of the main stand […] For the financing, the only contribution from the State to the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours was a subsidy of 300,000 to 400,000 euros paid to the FFSA (the event’s promoter, editor’s note). The deficit being covered by local authorities. » Conditions that suggest Magny-Cours is indeed back in the race.