LA delegation in Paris, led by Mayor Bass, has busy agenda ahead of 2028 Olympics
PARIS (KABC) -- Transportation, homelessness and female empowerment were on the agenda in Paris Friday as Mayor Karen Bass leads a delegation of Los Angeles officials hoping to learn from their European counterparts as the cities prepare to host the next two Summer Olympics.
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, traveled to Paris on Wednesday for the five-day trip.
Bass and her delegation spent much of Friday studying how Paris addresses homelessness and how hosting the 2024 Olympics has accelerated Paris' efforts. Just like Los Angeles City Hall, Paris City Hall also has a homeless encampment across the street. But L.A. has more than 40,000 unhoused people and Paris has roughly 4,000.
"We need to all be engaged right now. We need to clean up our city," Bass said. "We need to make sure we get people housed."
The delegation sees the games as an opportunity to bring together state and federal funds to transform the city far beyond the Olympics.
On Saturday, Bass and the delegation will head to the Paris suburbs to visit the Olympic and Paralympic Athletes' Village and see some of the venues for the games.
On Thursday, Bass said they talked about possible investments made by French companies in Paris that could be replicated in Los Angeles.
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to engage with Business France and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CEO Jean-Marie Tritant to witness firsthand the collaborative nature of businesses and consumer engagement during major events," Bass said in a statement. "We are working urgently to ensure that Los Angeles will grow economically during the 2028 games and that our small businesses will grow and thrive past the 2028 games."
The delegation arrived in Paris and met with U.S. Ambassador Denise Bauer. The group also received a safety briefing from embassy officials.
Bass previously served as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs for 12 years, leading several international delegations.
On their first day, the delegation also met with Hidalgo and her leadership to learn about her agenda for the Paris 2024 Games.
"Thank you for the warm welcome to Paris Mayor Hidalago!" Bass posted Thursday on social media. "As Los Angeles prepares for the 2028 Olympics, we are so honored to be here before the games kickoff and learn more about how your city is gearing up to welcome the world."
Bass' office said the focus of the trip is to learn best practices to generate business development, and learn from innovative housing, green transportation and infrastructure projects.
Additionally, proposals and priorities with Business France were discussed. In a roundtable discussion with French companies, the delegation spoke about transportation, sustainability, sports and technology sectors.
Business France is an agency of the French Government, responsible for fostering business relationships of France worldwide. With eight offices throughout the U.S. and Canada -- with a full office opened in L.A. in January - - Business France caters to companies that seek to partner with French companies or source French products and services.
The three City Council members in the delegation sit on the Ad Hoc Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The delegation is expected to return Sunday.
City News Service contributed to this report.
