Mayor not keen on potential Paris bid for 2024 Olympics

Paris: The mayor of Paris expressed reservations Friday about a potential bid by the French capital to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

"I didn`t promote this project during my campaign," said Anne Hidalgo, who took office last month.  "Parisians expect me to provide housing, public services, justice, economic ease," she told a news conference alongside New York Mayor Bill de Blasio during a visit to the Big Apple. "I love sports, I love sports competitions, I know what it can bring to a society and a city in terms of dreams and energy," she said. "But today we are all under financial and budgetary restraints that do not make it possible for me to say I support such a candidacy." Hidalgo, the first woman to hold the top Parisian post, went on to say that she would wait to see what athletes and working groups currently exploring a potential bid recommend. "I will make my stance known once this work is completed," she said.  The socialist, on her first official trip abroad, was warmly received by de Blasio who hailed their "shared vision" regarding early childhood education, affordable housing, and environmental sustainability. "It is absolutely amazing, by the way, 3,000 miles apart, we have come up with such a similar vision of what our cities need," said de Blasio, a Democrat. "What we want to do now is to communicate constantly as we implement this vision to help each other figure out what is working, and what is not." As she left City Hall, Hidalgo praised the "great atmosphere" of her first encounter with de Blasio and said she looked forward to a "good cooperation" between the two. On Thursday, as part of her two-day visit, Hidalgo took part in a United Nations conference on sustainable development and urged major cities around the world to unite to fight climate change.