The cost of the Games is 8.8 billion euros (9.48 billion dollars). Of this, €4.4 billion will go to the organising committee (including ticket sales, contributions from the International Olympic Committee and sponsorship income) and €4.4 billion  to infrastructure (including €1.7 billion from the public purse).

The former president of the French Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, said last week that the Paris Games "should cost" between 3,000 and 5,000 million euros in public funds, and that the bill would only be known after the event, from 26 July to 11 August.

In fact, some public expenditure is still unknown, such as the cost of security provided by the state. The minister assured that a "detailed evaluation" of public spending on the Paris Games would be carried out, department by department.

Speaking to the press after the inauguration of the Paris 2024 Aquatics Centre, French President Emmanuel Macron urged observers to look at the achievements so far, with all the sports infrastructure on track and the budget only slightly higher than expected.

The 188 million euro ($204 million) Aquatics Centre he visited on Thursday - one of only two new venues built for the Paris Olympics - was handed over to the local organising committee a month ahead of schedule. "Take a bit of perspective and look at the history of previous Games. Think about the overspending four, eight or 12 years ago. It's nothing like this," he said.

Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told French television last week that the organising committee's budget could be overspent by 15 per cent, compared with 200 per cent in London in 2012.