Paris council to vote Monday on bid for 2024 Olympics

PARIS (AP) Paris will move a step closer to bidding for the 2024 Olympics when Mayor Anne Hidalgo submits a resolution in favor of hosting the games before the city council.

Hidalgo, who was initially skeptical about the costs and environmental impact of the Olympics, now fully supports a potential bid, which won't be officially decided before June.

Apart from the Green Party members of the council, all other political forces are expected to adopt the mayor's resolution on Monday.

The resolution stipulates that the city will join the national Olympic committee, the state and the Paris region in an association aimed at finalizing the bid project. It also insists that the bid should be led by athletes and would benefit the country's struggling economy.

Paris last hosted the Olympics in 1924 and mounted unsuccessful bids for the 1992, 2008 and 2012 Games.

IOC member Tony Estanguet, who would lead the French bid alongside Bernard Lapasset if Paris decides to go forward, said a favorable vote from the Paris council would not automatically lead to a bid.

''There are many steps required after the vote,'' Estanguet told The Associated Press. ''The region will have to take an official position following another vote and the state will have the final word. When all the political support will be secured, time will come for the sports movement to think about the best way to move forward.''

French President Francois Hollande has already given his support to the bid, whose infrastructure budget has been estimated at 3 billion euros ($4.5 billion), with operational costs of 3.2 billion euros ($4.8 billion).

Paris has until Sept. 15 to join Boston, Rome and Hamburg, Germany, which are the declared 2024 candidates so far.