French athletes’ harsh letter against sports budget cuts
Víctor García
January 22, 2025

The French newspaper L’Equipe published an exclusive letter signed by the athletes of the French Olympic and Paralympic teams on Wednesday, in which they express their deep concern about the cuts in the country’s sports budget after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

THE LEGACY OF PARIS 2024 IN JEOPARDY

According to the athletes, Paris 2024 marked a before and after for French sport, with a 20% increase in sports club registrations compared to 2023. “Therein lies the legacy of Paris 2024: the desire to do sport and to practice it together,” they stress in their missive. However, less than six months after the end of the Games, cuts threaten to dismantle that progress.

The letter denounces a 33% reduction in the budget allocated to sport, which already represented only 0.2% of the total state budget. Moreover, in some local authorities, the cuts have reached 50%, severely affecting sports clubs and venues.

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

Athletes warn about the consequences of these cuts:

  • Less local sports equipment.
  • Reduction of clubs accessible to the population.
  • Decrease of physical activities in schools.
  • Lack of educators trained for inclusive practices.

“It’s not just an economy, it’s a sabotage to coexistence,” they stress. Athletes recall that sport is a key tool for public health, education and social bonds, pillars they strengthened during the Paris 2024 Games.

THE FUTURE OF ATHLETES

“If we cut the budget of French sport, our society will pay the price: weakened health, crumbling social ties and a sporting decline.” The athletes are calling on President Emmanuel Macron and the government to preserve the legacy of Paris 2024 and invest in sport beyond sporting achievements.

With an eye on the 2028 Games and France’s return as host in 2030, the athletes warn that the commitments made during Paris 2024 risk becoming empty words if this situation is not reversed. “France deserves better,” they conclude in their forceful message.

[List of the 425 athletes who have signed the charter]

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