They arrived a little less than half an hour late than the announced time, but the rainy weather conditions and especially the good deed they had just accomplished made it impossible to hold it against them.
This Wednesday afternoon, it was almost 2:30 p.m. when four marathon runners who had left Saint-Ouen the same morning arrived to applause in front of the town hall of Villepinte, host town of the first stage of the “Handitour”.
One of them carried a replica of the Olympic flame in his hand.
Supported by the Association of Elected Officials of France and financed by the Île-de-France regional council, this event will travel in the coming weeks to around ten Ile-de-France municipalities including Angerville (Essonne), Villeneuve-Saint-Georges (Val-de-France). -Marne), Noisy-le-Grand (Seine-Saint-Denis)… “The goal is to raise awareness among elected officials and citizens on the subjects of disability and paralympism,” specifies Farida Adlani, presenting this Tuesday at double title as vice-president of the Region and local elected official in Villepinte.
In the afternoon, the Cosec gymnasium opened its doors to residents wishing to discover certain disabled sports, including wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball.
The choice of this last discipline owes nothing to chance: next August and September, the Villepinte exhibition center, which will then take the name of Arena Paris Nord, will host the men's and women's Paralympic events.
A month earlier, the boxers will compete in the preliminary phases of the Olympic Games there.
“Disability is not just about using a wheelchair”
The City took advantage of this inaugural stage of the “Handitour” to organize a large collection of plastic bottle caps, which help finance wheelchairs.
The family who brought the biggest bag was awarded three tickets to the Paralympics.
Raising awareness among the population also means combating certain preconceived ideas, as Claude did this Tuesday afternoon.
In front of the (young) elected representatives of the children's municipal council, this man with a disability wanted to share his experience after connecting the headquarters of the Île-de-France regional council to the Villepinte town hall on behalf of of the “Courir pour un satchel” association.
“Disability isn’t just about getting around in a wheelchair,” he confided.
There are also people like me who have an invisible illness.
My illness affects the intestines, I have to go to the toilet as soon as I eat.
I started running in 2015. The important thing is to surpass yourself.
And it’s about living together.
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