Paris mayor asks for 'national unity' in 2024 Olympic bid

PARIS (AP) Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has urged all French presidential candidates to throw their support behind the capital city's bid to host the 2024 Olympics.

Speaking to a group of French senators on Wednesday, Hidalgo said her team has met with all candidates and asked them to build a ''national unity'' around the bid.

Paris is bidding to host the 2024 Games against Budapest, Rome and Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee will choose the host in September 2017, while the French presidential election takes place in April-May.

Hidalgo, a Socialist who is a close ally of President Francois Hollande, said the political consensus is a ''decisive element,'' adding that IOC President Thomas Bach ''told us it is a very solid asset in our bid.''