PARIS, Sept 28 (AFP) - Jacques Chirac has confirmed his "total determination" to help Paris win the race to stage the 2012 Summer Olympics ahead of London, New York, Madrid and Moscow.
"More than a century after its resurrection by baron Pierre de Coubertin, France is ready to once again become the country of Olympism," the French president told medal winners form last month's Games in Athens.
Paris, humiliated in its bid for the 2008 Olympics, is the favourite for next July's vote by the International Olympic Committee in Singapore.
Paris last hosted the Games in 1924 and before that in 1900. France hosted the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville and Winter Games in 1968 at Grenoble and 1924 at Chamonix.
Paris finished behind Beijing, Toronto and Istanbul in the first round of voting in 2001 for the 2008 Games and improved only by one place, ahead of Istanbul, in the second round which clinched the issue for Beijing.
However, Paris was fighting a near impossible battle against Beijing and outgoing IOC president Juan-Antonio Samaranch's determination to give China the Games before he stepped down.
Samaranch also frustrated Paris and Chirac, the city's then mayor, when it bid to stage the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, losing out to the Catalan's hometown of Barcelona.
IOC inspectors start evaluating the five candidates for the 2012 Games next February when they visit Madrid from February 3 to 6, London from February 16 to 19, New York from February 21 to 24, then Paris from March 9 to 12 and Moscow from March 14 to 17.
The commission, presided by 1984 women's 400m hurdles Olympic champion Nawal el Moutawakel of Morocco, will draw up a report which will be made public a month before the winner is named on July 6 in Singapore.
The cities have till November 15 to hand their bid reports in to the IOC.