Paris seeks to impress inspectors

Organisers of the Paris bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games are gearing up for this week's visit of an evaluation commission, putting up banners, assembling volunteers -- and hoping large labour protests will not spoil the show.

Officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will inspect the French capital from Wednesday in a four-day visit.

The 13-strong team have already inspected Paris's rivals Madrid, London and New York and will visit Moscow next week.

Of the five contenders, Paris is widely regarded as the favourite to host the Games, and campaigners say even large trade union protests planned for Thursday will not be able to spoil the city's image.

"There are better advertisements for a candidate city but we will find solutions," Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour, a double Olympic fencing champion, told French radio on Monday.

All the leading unions have called for a day of strikes and demonstrations throughout the country to demand pay rises and to protest against changes to the 35-hour working week.

Over the past few weeks, organisers have decorated hundreds of buses, buildings and lampposts with Paris's "Love of the Games" logo, and dozens of volunteers are ready to help organise the inspectors' visit.

Paris campaigners say the main strength of their city's bid is the fact that up to 90 percent of the infrastructure, stadiums, public transport and buildings is already in place.

But they will now have to convince the evaluation committee of the sites' merits in practice.

IOC officials will visit the venue for the Olympic village, to be located in the heart of Paris on a 10-hectare site, sites in and around Stade de France, to the north, and Roland Garros, to the west.

They will also be received by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and President Jacques Chirac.

NO GAMES SINCE 1924

The city's bid chief Philippe Baudillon has highlighted Paris's experience at organising big sports events including the 1998 World Cup and the 2003 athletics world championships.

Unsuccessful in bidding for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics, Paris has not hosted the Games since 1924.

"We're taking advantage now of a 20-year-old commitment to the Olympics. It's an in-depth task. Our desire for the Games is deeply rooted, we want the Games badly," he told Reuters in a recent interview.

Baudillon said the demonstrations on March 10 would provide "a chance to prove we can cope with that sort of problem".

Paris officials have said the rallies would be diverted to parts of Paris where they would not disturb the IOC's work.

"Paris needs the Games," Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe told French television on Monday.

"Paris will be transformed by the Games," he said.

If Paris wins the bid, officials have predicted the creation of 50,000 jobs and an injection of around 35 billion euros into the French economy between 2005 and 2012.

The IOC will decide in July which of Paris, London, Madrid, Moscow or New York will stage the 2012 Games.