France, April 4 -- French President Emmanuel Macron will on Thursday hail the array of artisans, architects and engineers involved in building the Paris Aquatics Centre during an inauguration ceremony of the showpiece venue to be used during the Olympic Games.

The 180 million-euro centre - a stone's throw from the Stade de France in Saint-Denis - will host water polo, diving and synchronised swimming competitions between 26 July and 11 August.

In the month after, it will be used as a training facility for the Paralympics swimming events.

In the years before the bid was lodged to host the Olympics, leaders of the Seine Saint Denis department just outside Paris had lobbied for a pool to aid an area where statistics revealed that 60 perce...