French Alps 2030: Appeal Filed Against Olympic Law

France’s newly adopted Olympic law for the 2030 Winter Games has been referred to the Constitutional Council.

The next Winter Olympics after Milano Cortina 2026 will take place in the French Alps from 1 to 17 February 2030. France will host its seventh Olympic Games overall, having previously staged three Summer Games in Paris and three Winter editions in Chamonix, Grenoble and Albertville.

The Alpes 2030 organising committee has also faced internal governance challenges, with reports of resignations, internal disagreements and concerns over tight timelines and budget constraints.

The new law seeks to adjust the legal framework to facilitate the organisation of the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, the appeal challenges several of its key provisions. It questions the requirement that public participation in environmental decision-making be conducted exclusively online, arguing that this limits meaningful engagement and excludes those without digital access, contrary to the constitutional right to participate in environmental decisions. It also contests a provision allowing soil sealing linked to the Games to be accounted for at the national level, which critics say could obscure environmental impact and potential threshold breaches.

Security and property-related measures are also under challenge. The appeal objects to provisions allowing bans on appearing at major event sites, expanded powers for private security agents to inspect vehicles, and the extension of algorithmic video surveillance trials until 2027, arguing that these measures may infringe freedom of movement, equality before the law and the right to an effective remedy. It further challenges provisions facilitating expropriations for Olympic infrastructure, including Olympic villages, on the basis that the scope is insufficiently defined and may disproportionately affect property rights. The Constitutional Council must rule within one month and has the power to strike down all or part of the law.