Francois Fillon travelled to Annecy to welcome the 11 members of the commission, which will be shown technical presentations and will undertake site visits. The visit will run through to Saturday before the commission makes further trips to the other two candidate cities of Munich in Germany and PyeongChang in South Korea.
"I met the commission with the aim of convincing them of why our bid should win," Fillon told AFP. "On top of this I offered the total support of the state."
Fillon added: "The candidature file has excellent technical quality and is focused around the two legendary hubs of Chamonix - which hosted the first Winter Games in 1924 - and Annecy. We would organise an exceptional Winter Games under a theme of sustainable development and legacy."
French businessman Charles Beigbeder was recently installed as the new chief executive of the team attempting to bring the 2018 Winter Olympics to Annecy after Edgar Grospiron resigned in December following a funding dispute. The IOC will select the host city on July 6 in Durban, South Africa.
