CNOSF President Brigitte Henriques spoke about plans to announce a new Chef de Mission for Paris 2024 at a recent Board meeting ©Getty Images

The Chef de Mission of France’s delegation for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris is set to be announced in mid-March.

Details of the position were presented at a recent meeting of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) Board of Directors.

CNOSF President Brigitte Henriques admitted that she had a "penchant for an athlete" as the organisation prepares to appoint the new Chef de Mission.

"He’s the delegation supervisor, someone you have to trust, who has experience of the Games and who will be the relay and spokesperson for the athletes," said Henriques.

French Ski Federation President Michel Vion was France’s Chef de Mission at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before French Ice Sports Federation leader Nathalie Péchalat led the French delegation at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Henriques has returned to her position as head of the CNOSF following a period of sick leave.

A group of four officials led the CNOSF in Henriques’ absence but the former French Football Federation vice-president insisted that she would "never quit" amid a governance crisis at the organisation caused by her feud with axed secretary general Didier Séminet.

Michel Vion was France's Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ©Getty Images
Michel Vion was France's Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ©Getty Images

Henriques has expressed her determination to create the "best conditions" for athletes when they compete at Paris 2024.

Concerns have been raised over a lack of air conditioning in rooms at the Athletes' Village in Saint-Denis, particularly if a heatwave coincides with the Games.

Henriques insisted that "the problem was taken into account" and that the rooms were not exposed to "direct radiation" from the sun.

She added that the CNOSF would "not leave the athletes in conditions" of high heat.

Earlier this month, Nicolas Ferrand, chief executive of Solideo, which is responsible for building the infrastructure for the Games, said: "We are building rooms where it will be six degrees [Celsius] cooler than the outside temperature", arguing that the move would reduce the environmental impact of Paris 2024.

"It's a question for society," said Ferrand in a report by AFP.

"Do we collectively accept being at six degrees less and having an excellent carbon footprint, or do we say it's not okay, and we're ready to downgrade the carbon footprint?"

Paris 2024 also told AFP that "it's still a work in progress" on ways to monitor temperatures in rooms at the Athletes' Village.