International Olympic Committee (IOC) head Thomas Bach on Thursday said Paris would be an "exemplary" host of the 2024 Olympics after meeting French President Francois Hollande in Lausanne.

"This candidacy is exemplary and, if you continue like this, you have all the assets and you can move forward with confidence," Bach said in front of the press while Hollande declared that France was "ready to rally behind it".

"We are delighted to see that France is rallying behind a Paris bid for the Olympics and we are sure it will be a very strong bid," added Bach.

"France has a lot to offer the Olympic movement and has already offered a lot thanks to Pierre de Coubertin," added Bach in reference to the French founder of the IOC, who moved its headquarters to Lausanne in 1915.

"What we learnt today is that the Paris bid will put the emphasis on its heritage (of existing facilities), which is the spirit of the 2020 agenda," added Bach, with a nod to a series of reforms adopted in December in a bid to reduce the cost of the Games.

President Hollande said France "would be ready to get behind a bid" and called it a "great opportunity".

"We know that there is still some way to go, procedures, and one of the reasons for this meeting was to find out exactly what the rules are, because there are rules in every competition," added Hollande, whose visit to Lausanne came at the end of a two-day state visit to Switzerland.
Source: AFP