Athlete Colin Jackson, from the London delegation, hugs a colleague in Singapore on Thursday.

The Paris bid, distraught with disappointment, immediately complained that London had not played fair in its campaign to get the Games and blamed the personal lobbying of Tony Blair for their shock defeat.

Members of their team were in tears as they left the Convention Centre after losing a competition that Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said was unlike the Games themselves because there were no silver or bronze medals.

The French claimed that they at least had followed the rules of fair play.

President Chirac learnt of the result after a conversation with Bertrand Delanoe, the Mayor of Paris, while he was flying from Singapore to Britain for the G8 summit.

In an official statement from his office, M. Chirac congratulated London and said that “he wishes the British authorities and people good luck organising the Games of the 30th Olympiad”.

Delanoe was less diplomatic, saying that it was “an immense disappointment. I have met many IOC members who have told me that they don’t understand it. I want to follow the rules of fair play and congratulate London and the Londoners. I have warm relations with Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London.

“I am not so affectionate towards all the promoters of the London candidature because I am not sure that they have taken part in this competition with exactly the same methods, the same kind of spirit.”

Delanoe said: “On Tuesday, when I was going up to my hotel room to sleep, there were some people who were coming down from successive meetings with Tony Blair and Sebastian Coe, the leader of the bid.”

“I don’t understand that. I had understood that it was necessary to have the best dossier, the best kind of spirit, and I believe that a large majority of the IOC thought that of Paris.”

Delanoe added that what had lost Paris the Games, for which it was bidding for the third time, was observing the rules of fair play.

However, all the bids have conducted intensive lobbying and there are no IOC regulations against doing so out here. What was crucial for London was that the Prime Minister spoke to a large number of the IOC members personally, whereas Chirac arrived only on Tuesday night and then became part of the presentation team.

However, several IOC members said that it was far more important to meet Blair personally than for Chirac to address them from the podium.

The issue of the Paris bid always observing fair play ? the French always use the English expression ? was also raised by Jean-Francois Lamour, the sports minister.

He said: “We obviously had difficulties in conveying our ideas to the IOC members but we have carried this candidature with much engagement and the wish to move forwards together.

“We have always remained on our track, in respecting the rules of the IOC. I do not think that this has played for or against us. This candidature was carried by the entire country and we are all disappointed.”

He did not think the “no” in the referendum on Europe had influenced the IOC vote.

There have been several spats between rival cities since the five shortlisted candidates were named in May 2004.

The latest between Paris and London occurred this week when two Australians, Joe Sloman, who has been advising London after being the chief operating officer for Sydney 2000, and Ron Sheard, whose company has designed Wembley and Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium, criticised the sightlines for athletics at the Stade de France.