Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Council President Renaud Muselier is among the 124 officials from the region to have signed the declaration of support for co-hosting the Games, published by Le Dauphiné Libéré and BFM Dici.

France has been a late entrant to the race to stage the 2030 Winter Games, but it has developed quickly since International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and International Cycling Union President David Lappartient was elected as French National Olympic and Sports Committee President in June.

The elected officials believe the multi-sport event presents "a real chance to change the destiny of our communities and our living area".

They argue the Winter Olympics and Paralympics would showcase the territories in the French Alps and boost infrastructure, tourism and accommodation facilities and accessibility.

"Yes, the Games are also a legacy and that is above all why we support this candidacy with all our strength," the declaration reads.

"This is an opportunity to improve our roads, to resolve our problems with seasonal and historical traffic nodes, such as the Gap-Grenoble link.

"This is an opportunity to bring Briançon closer to Marseille by train, with a regeneration of this railway line, an artery of life and exchange.

"This is the opportunity to show the world that we are capable of producing the most exemplary Games in the world, with our snow, our chalets, and our landscapes.

"This is an opportunity to make the voice of our mountains heard, at the highest French and European level, for all our projects.

"This is an opportunity for each of our municipalities to be better served, more accessible, and for our entire department to undoubtedly be better known.

"This is what these Winter Games could be and offer, in this fantastic setting that is the Hautes-Alpes.

"Alongside the economic world, alongside the Olympic and sporting world, we resolutely affirm our support for this candidacy, and our total commitment alongside Renaud Muselier."

Senators, departmental Councillors, Mayors and municipal Councillors are among the signatories of the endorsement of France's candidacy.

The École du ski français, an organisation consisting of around 17,000 instructors, has also separately backed the 2030 bid.

Lappartient has suggested IOC President Thomas Bach has been "very impressed" by France's proposals for the 2030 Winter Games, and is hopeful of entering the targeted dialogue phase of the bidding process by the end of the year.

However, there is opposition from local environmental groups to the plans, and France faces stiff competition from Sweden, which launched a fresh bid to stage the Winter Games for the first time earlier this year, and potentially Switzerland.

The 2030 Winter Olympics had initially been set to be awarded at the upcoming IOC Session in Mumbai, but the IOC was forced to delay its plans last year because of issues with several of the bids.

Sapporo in Japan had long been viewed as the frontrunner but suffered a loss of support from the public after the Tokyo 2020 corruption scandals emerged, Vancouver in Canada failed to achieve British Colombia Government support, and Salt Lake City in the United States has made its preference to stage the 2034 Winter Games clear.

The 2030 Winter Games is set to be the first awarded under the IOC's new bidding process in which its Future Host Commission identifies its preferred candidate with a view to the Executive Board entering targeted dialogue to finalise a proposal for Session approval.

The French capital Paris is due to host next year's Summer Olympics and Paralympics, and one issue for the country's 2030 hopes is the IOC Charter would prevent it from being awarded a future edition of the Games at a Session which it is hosting.