Paris Wants 'More Than Ever' to Host 2024 Olympics After Terror Attacks

A week after the bloodbath that claimed the lives of some 130 people in the French capital, co-president of the country’s Olympics bid, Tony Estanguet, stepped out with a statement on Friday, saying that the committee will continue to put their best efforts towards bringing the games to the city in 2024, for the first time in 100 years.

"More than ever we are determined to fight and to work very hard," three-time Olympic gold winner Estanguet said. "All the team members had the same feeling… that we have to continue and to work maybe harder than we did in the past."

France now needs projects that bring positivity into the lives of the country’s citizens, Estanguet noted, adding that “sport is a great vehicle for this kind of emotions." And security concerns shouldn’t impede the Paris bid, in the champion slalom canoeist’s opinion.

"We're leaving this topic to the authorities," he said. "And it's good to see that internationally that there's a common energy to share a good expertise and make sure that they will resolve this problem."

On Friday, Estanguet attended the general assembly of European Olympic Committees in Prague, where officials from rival cities delivered goodwill messages to Paris in its attempt to win the right to hold the high-profile competition.

As for now, Paris is competing against Los Angeles; Rome; Budapest, Hungary; and Hamburg, Germany.