The festival is a week-long gathering of athletes to promote the values of sport, while looking back on 2016 and forward to next year.

It aims to inspire the next generation of stars, with French capital Paris bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Generation 2024 athletes are "future stars of French sport" who could be in their prime when the Games are held.

Another goal of the week is to prepare youngsters for the opportunities surrounding the 2024 Games, while further engaging young people in Paris and across France with the capital's bid.

Paris 2024 will be the focus of Etoiles du Sport which started yesterday in La Plagne, Europe’s biggest winter sports resort.

The athletes will discuss the future of sport across the country, how the bid can place sport and Olympism at the heart of society in France and how the athlete community can contribute to the final stages of the bid.

This will add to the work already carried out by the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Committee.

"The Paris 2024 bid is led by athletes and powered by the collective energy and will of France's national sports movement and the 15th edition of Etoiles du Sport is the perfect example of this in action," said Paris 2024 co-chairman, Tony Estanguet, a triple Olympic canoeing gold medallist.

"I am thrilled that we are presented with the opportunity to share our experience and insights in elite sport with the next generation of athletes - fuelling further their passion for sport and preparing them for the incredible opportunity of competing at a home Games.

"Our promise is to place sport and Olympism at the heart of society across Paris and France, helping the Olympic Movement to create a new generation of fans globally.

"We are looking forward to a productive week discussing how Paris 2024 can be a Games of passion and purpose, celebrating sport in the heart of a truly global city."

Sarah Ourahmoune, a Rio 2016 boxing silver medallist and a Paris 2024 Sport and Society Committee member, added: "I am honoured to be here with my fellow athletes to celebrate French sport and discuss how sport can have an even bigger positive impact on French society by utilising the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a catalyst to drive real change.

"Our athlete community has played an integral role in the bid so far and we will continue to harness their energy and enthusiasm as we continue in our ambition to deliver an inspirational Games in 2024 that captures the imagination of the next generation of Olympic stars."

Budapest and Los Angeles are also bidding for the 2024 Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will elect a host on September 2013 at its Session in Peru's capital Lima.