Mayor Karen Bass signs cooperation agreement with Paris suburb amid preparations for Olympics

PARIS (CNS) -- Mayor Karen Bass and a delegation of city officials were preparing to return to Los Angeles Sunday after a five-day trip to Paris to meet with French officials and observe their work as the cities prepare to host the next two Summer Olympics.

Bass signed an agreement Saturday with Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine Mayor Karim Bouamrane to collaborate on multiple issues, and toured the Paris 2024 Olympic Village with Mayor Mathieu Hanotin of Saint-Denis and the rest of the delegation.

Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine is a suburb just north of Paris, bordering Saint- Denis, and home to the newly inaugurated Olympic and Paralympic Athlete Village.

"As we get ready to return to Los Angeles we know that we've made real connections that will bring ideas and investment to the city of Los Angeles," Bass said in a statement. "I want to thank Mayor Mathieu Hanotin of Saint-Denis for sharing with us the transformative projects underway in his community, and to Mayor Karim Bouamrane of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine for our new partnership and the great introduction to his city. I appreciate the warm welcome and the opportunity to learn about their plans underway for the 2024 Games and its legacy."

Among the points of the agreement:

-- Both parties agree to cooperate in the fields of youth, sustainability, sports and culture, with the aim of developing joint projects that promote the exchange of know-how and best practices, as well as the promotion of common values.

-- Both parties commit to encouraging exchanges among young people through educational programs, cultural exchanges, and projects aimed at enhancing the civic engagement of young citizens.

-- Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine and Los Angeles will cooperate to promote sustainability initiatives, such as environmental awareness programs and the promotion of renewable energies.

-- Both cities commit to facilitating sports exchanges among their residents, organizing joint sports events and promoting sports as a tool for social cohesion.

-- Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine and Los Angeles will implement actions to promote and valorize their respective cultural heritage, including artistic events, exhibitions and cultural exchange programs.

Bass, City Council President Paul Krekorian, council members Traci Park and Katy Yaroslavsky, Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins, LA84 Foundation President and CEO Renata Simril and Priscilla Cheng, senior vice president for government relations at LA28, left for Paris on Wednesday.

The three City Council members in the delegation sit on the Ad Hoc Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

On Saturday, the delegation also toured The Adidas Arena, a newly constructed 8,000-capacity sport and concert venue that will be used for badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, para-badminton and para-powerlifting.

Additionally, they joined Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CEO Jean-Marie Tritant to "see how Westfield plans to activate their partnership during the Paris 2024 Games by visiting one of their retail sites to observe how they can generate excitement throughout Los Angeles for major events like the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games," according to the Mayor's Office.

On Friday, the delegation toured a shelter for unhoused women in Paris' City Hall as well as La Fabrique de la Solidarité, which specializes in distribution of basic necessities and support for seniors. La Fabrique also provides training courses for volunteers, coordinates donations of money, clothes and other supplies and provides information and resources for members of the unhoused community.

The delegation was briefed regarding how Paris hopes to confront homelessness before the Games begin July 24.

The delegation is expected to return to Los Angeles on Sunday.