We're not sure what has more clout: Mickey Mouse, Alain Prost or 60 million euros, but the combination of the three was still not enough to get the French Grand Prix back on track. The race, previously held at the Magny Cours circuit in rural France, was removed from the 2009 calendar after organizers couldn't cough up the cash, and almost immediately other parties began filing queue to acquire the rights. The leading tender was spearheaded by Prost, the French former world champion, and backed by promoters Lagadere Sports and Euro Disney. Lagadere would provide the 60 million needed to finance the project, while Disneyland Paris would provide the land for the new circuit to be constructed. The theme park is just a 30-minute drive from metropolitan Paris, and already has plenty of hotel accommodations on site. However, the plan has now fallen apart due to lack of funding and following protests over the prospect of noise and environmental pollution by local residents who intend instead to go back to force-feeding geese and chain-smoking Gauloises.
The Euro Disney proposal was seen as the only viable option for getting the French GP back on for 2010, and its collapse means that Formula One will in all likelihood will not return to France until 2011 at the earliest. Still, the idea has merit, and makes us wonder if the US Grand Prix couldn't do well in Orlando or Anaheim.
[Source: F1-Live]
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