The decision has been made. After more than two years of proceedings, the saga of renewing the management of the Stade de France is about to come to an end.
The State is expected to award the new Saint-Denis stadium concession to the GL Events group, a specialist in events, with which it has been in exclusive negotiations since December 2024, in the coming weeks.
Faced with GL Events, the Vinci-Bouygues consortium, the historic manager of the Stade de France since its inauguration in 1998, seemed well placed to return.
But to everyone's surprise, the government decided at the end of last year to put talks with the construction duo on hold, preferring to turn to the Lyon alternative. My close ties between GL Events and Emmanuel Macron had then been singled out.
Vinci-Bouygues KO
This decision was contested by Vinci-Bouygues, which had appealed to the Council of State to denounce the decision to open exclusive negotiations with GL Events. A futile attempt: the highest administrative court rejected their appeal last week, thus validating the procedure initiated by the State.
Behind the scenes, things are moving quickly. The Infrastructure Financing Support Mission (Fin Infra), which is leading the project on behalf of the French government, is currently finalizing the terms of the future concession contract with GL Events. This is an essential step before the award is officially announced.
The Vinci-Bouygues consortium, for its part, should receive an official letter by the end of May informing it of the rejection of its offer, thus sealing the end of its reign over the 80-seat stadium.
