French newspaper L'Equipe revealed that the Centre National de Tir was the preference of the Organising Committee, instead of the La Courneuve shooting range in Seine-Saint-Denis.

The Châteauroux site is already built and has been home to the National Sports Shooting Centre since its opening in May 2018, compared to La Courneuve where regeneration is needed.

However, Châteauroux lies around 170 miles south of Paris and hosting shooting there would take another sport out of the French capital itself.

So far, handball has been confirmed for the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, near Lille, while sailing will take place in Marseille.

Surfing will be the furthest sport away after being awarded to Tahiti, nearly 10,000 miles away in the South Pacific.

Reports that Châteauroux, the home town of famous French actor Gérard Depardieu, could host shooting first emerged in January. 

But a Paris 2024 statement in March then said that the city was "not an option" and that plans would press ahead in La Courneuve.

Paris 2024 is also mulling over its venues for basketball and boxing, with final choices due to be considered at a meeting on July 12.

The La Courneuve site is located on a 13-hectare "wasteland" which was previously a hydrocarbon storage facility for the armed forces.

Original plans would see the area "decontaminated, redeveloped and renatured by 2025".

This would provide "a strong legacy for the Paris 2024 Games from an environmental perspective", organisers have claimed.

Two indoor competition halls and one outdoor facility would be situated at the site, but the International Shooting Sport Federation have concerns about the development being too small.

L'Equipe reported that one option would be to extend the site to a nearby bowling alley, but this would require further environmental studies and "various authorisations". 

There would also be the risk of the project facing delays.

Officials in Seine-Saint-Denis do not want to lose shooting.

Volleyball, badminton and swimming have already been moved away from the department by organisers, although the Stade de France which will host athletics and rugby sevens is located there.

Sport climbing, artistic swimming, diving and water polo will also see action in the area.

In January, Stéphane Troussel, the President of the General Council of Seine-Saint-Denis, appeared blindsided by the reports of shooting's possible move to Châteauroux.

"You have to work with us and not behind our backs," he told Agence France-Presse.