The head of Annecy's struggling bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics has resigned.
Edgar Grospiron announced his decision Sunday during a meeting of the bid's supervisory board. Board chairman Christian Monteil told The Associated Press by phone that Grospiron ''will no longer be general director'' and ''we will have to recruit someone to replace him'' within the next two weeks.
Monteil called the split amicable. He said Grospiron, a 1992 Olympic moguls champion, ''remains at the disposal'' of the Annecy bid to help in other roles and with the transition to a new leader.
''He hasn't slammed the door shut,'' Monteil said.
Annecy is competing against Munich and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The IOC selects the host July 6 in Durban, South Africa. France has staged the Winter Games three times - in Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1968 and Albertville 1992.
After the IOC criticized Annecy's spread-out venues in June, bid officials offered a more centralized project centered around Annecy and Chamonix.
But last week, French IOC members Jean-Claude Killy and Guy Drut said Annecy was still lagging because it started its campaign too late and had largely failed to win over IOC members with its revamped plans.
That prompted French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno to pledge renewed support Friday for Annecy's bid, notably to help find more funding and sponsorship once the bid's international marketing strategy has been clearly defined.
Following Sunday's meeting, the bid's budget will now go from $24 million $26.4 million, Monteil said. The meeting was also held to discuss ways of hiring personnel capable of boosting the bid's international profile.
In an effort to rally the flagging bid, France's national television broadcaster is showing this season's World Cup races at Val d'Isere, Courchevel and Chamonix for the first time in several years.
