Why Paris is still the city for dreamers

For years the French seemed uninterested in hosting major sporting events. Ever since they staged the last football World Cup, though, the mood has changed. Much as Euro 96 did in England, the success of France 98 gave people across the Channel a thirst for more. Now they are attempting to win the greatest prize of all – the staging of the 2008 Olympic Games.

There is, of course, the small matter of convincing the International Olympic Committee at their summit in Moscow next week that Paris has the superior bid, despite Beijing being widely tipped as favourites and a strong challenge from Toronto. The other candidate cities are Osaka and Istanbul.

The fact that Paris, who were not even in the running two years ago, have managed to manoeuvre themselves into such a strong position is down to one man: Claude Bebear.

Bebear, who heads the French capital's bid, is a high-profile and flamboyant businessman. His innovative and entrepreneurial streak has charmed the French public, who are still largely at ease with him despite his arrest last month and subsequent release from custody by police investigating alleged tax evasion. This 65-year-old businessman – who bought a small insurance company with 500 employees four decades ago and turned it into one of the world's biggest conglomerates, AXA – has single-handedly steered the French ship into a position to challenge Beijing.

"We have a chance of winning these Games," he says, "but we go to Moscow with no arrogance, a lot of modesty and no shortage of confidence. I hear some rumours that say our bid is brilliant, the best." Bebear adds: "Beijing are the favourites and we approach the voting stages as the underdogs. But that is not to say that we do not have a strong bid, or, indeed, that China are not facing a number of difficult questions."

Most tricky of all is the question of human rights. Bebear believes it is a fundamental problem. "John Kennedy once said, 'You can do business with everybody, but you can only play with gentlemen'. I feel that is very much the case here. If you look at the IOC Charter, it mentions human rights virtually every other page. The ethical question is a crucial one," says Bebear.

So, too, is that of infrastructure. And here Bebear's arguments are less abstract. Were France to be handed the last Games of the decade, they would build an Olympic village in Saint Denis, the Paris suburb where, unlike Britain, a ready-made national stadium, which is equipped and willing to welcome athletics, already stands. "In the image of the Stade de France," Bebear says, "this Olympic village will be stunning. It will be fully pedestrianised and athletes will be no more than a few minutes walk from the main track-and-field stadium. And, once the Games are over, the village will be turned into blocks of flats and a sports university."

Like most European capitals, Paris normally suffers from terrible traffic problems, but Bebear has planned for the Games to take place in August, a time when more than five million Parisians leave the city for their holidays. The French have thought of everything.

The fact that Bebear's bid has the full backing, both financial and political, of the French government helps, but it also benefits from the ultimate trump card, namely the City of Lights itself. Paris has not only proved that it is capable of dealing with large-scale events, but also makes officials and competitors dream in a way that Beijing, Toronto, or even London, cannot. Paris has sex appeal; and Bebear is planning to milk it to the full. "Parisis Paris," he says, "and we intend to use her a lot for our Games. We plan, for example, to hold the show-jumping in front of the Invalides [where Napoleon is buried], while the beach volleyball will take place under the Eiffel Tower."

Whoever wins, the picture looks bleak for any British bid for 2012. If France win, the chances of a third Olympics in Europe – following Athens in 2004 and Paris in 2008 – are virtually nil. If France lose, they will be in pole position for the 2012 edition. "I'm aware of the potential damage we could cause to any future British entry," Bebear says, "but it is my opinion that France's turn has come.

"This is an opportunity the IOC must not miss. The Games will rightly return to their ancient home in 2004. After that it will be time for them to continue their spiritual journey back to their modern home of Paris, where Baron Pierre de Coubertin re-ignited the Olympic torch in 1904."