Munich will have German President·Christian Wulff as part of its delegation at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session next Wednesday (July 6) and Pyeongchang will be boosted by the presence of South Korean leader·Lee·Myung-bak.

Annecy will instead by represented by France's Prime Minister François Fillon.

Sarkozy has so far ignored all efforts by France's Sports Minister·Chantal Jouanno to get him to change his mind and travel to support Annecy, which he claims to back, hailing the potential economic benefits of a successful bid.

According to Paris Match, Sarkozy's absence is based on his advisors' belief that the final decision will come down a straight fight between Pyeongchang and Munich, and that the President's presence will not alter Annecy's hopes.

Sarkozy's reputation among some IOC members was damaged after he led calls·for a boycott of the Opening Ceremony at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 over China's human rights record, although he later changed his mind and attend the event.

Sarkozy is probably wary of suffering the embarrassment his predecessor as French President, Jacques Chirac, who travelled to Singapore for the IOC Session in 2005 to support Paris but then saw the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics awarded to London.

Their victory was credited largely to the presence in the later stages of then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chirac's arch-rival.·

It was the third Paris bid that Chirac had been involved in that had ended in defeat having previously played key roles in the French capital's unsuccessful bids for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics.

The absence of Sarkozy will be a personal blow to Charles Beigbeder, the President of Annecy 2018, who had claimed in April he was confident that Sarkozy would be here.

"I am sure he [Sarkozy] will be there but I cannot confirm it," he told insidethegames during SportAccord in London.

"He loves sport and he loves Olympism."

Nevertheless, Beigbeder·tried to put a positive spin on Fillon's presence here.

"It is fantastic news for Annecy 2018 that the Prime Minister of France, Francois Fillon, will lead with the Minister of Sports Chantal Jouanno the French delegation in Durban," said·Beigbeder (pictured right with Fillon during the visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission).

"Throughout this campaign we have had support from the President and the Prime Minister for our vision of authentic Games in the heart of the mountains, with the athletes for the future.

"We are proud that Francois Fillon, the head of our government, has had a close association with the bid during the campaign and met personally with the IOC Evaluation Commission in Annecy in February 2011.

"His presence in Durban shows how much Annecy 2018 means to our country and how strong our desire is to work in partnership with the IOC to use the global platform of the French Alps to benefit winter sports all over the globe."

Fillion will join Jouanno, who led Paris' successful bid for the 2018 Ryder Cup last month, is due to arrive here on Sunday (July 3), while Beigbeder, Annecy 2018 vice-president Jean-Pierre Vidal, Annecy Mayor Jean-Luc Rigaut and·Denis Masseglia, President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), are all due in tomorrow.

But also absent will be Jean-Jacques Queyranne, the President of the Rhone-Alpes region, and Eric Fournier, the Mayor of·Chamonix Mont-Blanc, who will not be travelling to South Africa either.

Recriminations about Annecy's campaign have started already.

Beigbeder, who took over as head of Annecy's bid in January after former Olympic champion Edgar Grospiron quit citing lack of resources, has come in for criticism as a result as the bid flounders in the closing week of lobbying.

Canard Enchaine, a·satirical newspaper published weekly in France and which is famous for the amount of high-profile leaks it publishes from the Government, accused Beigbeder of failing to bring on board financial backing for the bid, with Jouanno and Lucien Boyer, the boss of Havas Sports having to step in to raise funds.

Jouanno even wrote to Beigbeder a fortnight ago to tell him that she had done his job for him, according to the French publication, having raised €2.7 million (£2.4 million/$3.9 million) from a variety of sources.

Canard Enchaine also criticised Beigbeder for allegedly failing to recognise Namibian IOC member Frankie Frederiks only a few weeks after they had met for a meal in London.

Last month, a survey revealed that approximately half of Annecy's residents opposed their candidacy to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, and they have also been beset by suggestions that they have been short of money in the closing months.

Still, though, Beigbeder is continuing to claim that Annecy can win.

"From the conversations we are having with members of the IOC it is clear we have momentum coming into the final days of this campaign," he said.

"We will be doing everything we can to convince the IOC that we would be the best possible and most nurturing home for the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games not for just one city, one region, one country or one continent but for the world."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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