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2030 Winter Olympics Chief Grospiron Quits Amid French Alps Turmoil

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Edgar Grospiron has resigned as president of the 2030 French Alps Winter Olympics organising committee after 18 months, citing months of tension.

Edgar Grospiron has stepped down as president of the organising committee for the 2030 French Alps Winter Olympics, ending a tenure that lasted just 18 months. The committee's executive board confirmed his exit at a meeting on Thursday, the latest disruption to a project dogged by governance problems.

Grospiron, who won the moguls freestyle skiing title at the 1992 Games, took charge in February 2025. A two-time Olympic medallist and three-time former world champion, he announced his own departure in a post on LinkedIn, where he said the move came after "months of tension". He concluded that the conditions needed for him to carry on were no longer in place.

The organising committee framed the change in leadership as a planned handover rather than a crisis. In a statement, it described his decision as "part of a deliberate, organised and fully assumed transition, taken in the interests of the project and its governance". It added that the shift reflected "a shared desire with stakeholders to enable the organisation to quickly enter this new operational phase".

A string of departures

Grospiron's time in charge was marked by repeated internal conflict and a run of senior exits. In February 2026, chief executive Cyril Linette walked away from the committee, pointing to "insurmountable disagreements" with the president. Linette was not the first to go. Chief operating officer Anne Murac and communications director Arthur Richer had also resigned before him.

Money has been tight throughout the planning. Grospiron acknowledged in February that the operation had "little time, little money". Even so, he maintained he could "deliver a Games that will honour our vision and ambition", so long as the committee provided "serenity" and "continuity".

That stability never materialised. In July, after a fraught board meeting, French Olympic Committee president Amelie Oudea-Castera told La Tribune Dimanche that the project was "once again facing governance problems".

Ice events moved from Nice

The organising effort has also had to reshape its competition map. In May, plans for an "ice sports hub" in Nice collapsed after the city's mayor, Eric Ciotti, blocked a proposal to turn OGC Nice's Allianz Riviera Stadium into a temporary ice rink. The ice disciplines will now be staged in Lyon instead. Speed skating is the exception and will be held in Heerenveen in the Netherlands.

Despite the upheaval, French authorities insisted the bid remains on track. Sports minister Marina Ferrari said there was "no concern about what comes next". Speaking to reporters, she said: "The bid is continuing to move forward. Our teams are mobilised and working. We are confident about the future of the Alpes project."

The International Olympic Committee also sought to draw a line under the change, crediting Grospiron with "crucial work in laying the foundations for the success" of the Games. The IOC said it would "continue working in close collaboration with the organising committee to build on the solid foundations that Mr Grospiron has laid".

2030 Winter Olympics, Edgar Grospiron, French Alps Olympics, organising committee, Cyril Linette, IOC, Marina Ferrari, Olympic governance

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