Perrine, for several years you have achieved extraordinary performances, notably with your Olympic title in 2018 and your two World Cup victories in 2019 and 2020. Do you think that the media have talked about it enough?
Perrine Laffont:
Of course we can always do better (smile).
Afterwards, in terms of the media, I start to be well followed, but what is missing is in terms of television.
It's very complicated to see our mogul skiing competitions so very often people can see my results but not see anything.
And in this case, it is difficult to create a real link.
I remain a somewhat abstract champion.
Do you understand why your discipline, however very spectacular, does not interest broadcasters more?
Certain sports keep a very strong notoriety, share their history, the tradition, the number of practitioners… Mogul skiing experienced a boost with Edgar Grospiron in the 1990s, but then everything ran out of steam.
There, things start to pick up little by little since the 2018 Games. We are rewriting our sport a bit and giving it a new lease of life, if I may say so.
But it takes a lot of work and time to catch up with other disciplines better relayed.
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Your example of Grospiron is very good because it allowed a strong media coverage of mogul skiing. Your results are at least as good as his and you still do not manage to achieve the same results in terms of notoriety. Is it because you are a woman?
(Hesitates) I don't think so.
Grospiron had an incredible charisma, he was a big mouth and above all, he won the Olympics in France (in Albertville in 1992), which inevitably has more impact than doing it in South Korea with six hours of jet lag.
In addition, three years later, he was world champion still in France, in La Clusaz.
All of this weighed heavily in the media.
And then afterwards, I don't have the impression of being devalued because I am a woman, even if it is certain that there is still work to improve the treatment of women's sport in France.
Yes, because we could make the same observation for example in judo between Teddy Riner and Clarisse Agbegnenou…
Yes, what Teddy does is incredible, but what Clarisse does is also and Teddy is over-mediatized compared to her.
We have the impression that in France, when you are a sportswoman, you have to win for years and years, put the cover back every year, in order to ultimately hope for some media coverage and that this is anchored in the mind people.
You always have to prove more than a man ...
Exactly.
And we can experience it as negative pressure because we have the feeling that the only way people talk about us is to win.
Obviously, I would rather win than be second, but that's also part of the sport than losing.
Except that if we want to have an impact on people, there is only one way: to win and to win again.
"If there was a real culture of sport in France, that it was better promoted at school among girls, the situation might be different."
There is another field that sportswomen do not exploit much, it is the press people. Would you be ready to "play" this game to be more publicized?
So me not at all.
But really not (laughs).
This is something that I decided not to do.
On social networks, I try to give more “inside” about my preparation, about what people don't know about my life as an athlete.
But my private life, on the other hand, must remain so.
I want to keep some privacy.
Now, we are not going to lie to each other, it is obvious that the media like it, the crisp, knowing who you go out with, where you go out… Me, it's an environment in which I totally refuse to venture.
The media coverage, I want it to be something that I want to show, to link to my performances, to my sporting life and for the rest, I am very modest.
My romantic relationships, my family, it's mine.
And too bad if my communication is more discreet than others, as long as it looks like me, it's perfect ...
There is another problem with the lack of women in the governing bodies, the federations… You are still very young (22 years old) but do you ever think about it for your post-career, to get involved more politically? ?
Yes why not.
Because during a high-level career, we are well placed to see certain problems at the level of the federations, we feel what is missing because we are often the first affected.
In addition, thanks to our expertise, we have experience to share and bring.
Do you also find that women, in general, do not take enough interest in high performance sport and their champions?
Yes, that's for sure… After all, everything comes from education and the environment in which we grew up too.
Already, France is not a country of sport.
We do a little in school because we have to do it, but there isn't much behind it.
In the United States there are university scholarships and it is a real business there.
The problem probably starts from there.
A child, and a fortiori a little girl, if from an early age you don't get her interested in sport, she is likely never to be really interested in it.
If there was a real culture of sport in France, that it was better promoted at school among girls, the situation might be different.
Then there is another very simple reason: what sport can you see mostly on TV today?
Football and rugby.
For other disciplines, you have to wait for a World or possibly a European Championship to see it.
Me, I'm sorry, football doesn't interest me too much.
And I'm not even talking about the hassle of following a female competition.
You have to catch a VPN abroad to follow it on a free channel abroad while in France, it is broadcast on a pay channel or even often not broadcast at all.
Access to women's sport is very difficult in France.
“Things are moving in the corporate world and I hope that the sports world will follow. Sportswomen also have beautiful messages to convey. "
You mentioned earlier the interest of the media, but also of people, for the crisp. Don't you have the feeling that we are often only interested in women's sport when there are tragedies, such as sexual violence?
It's a bit true unfortunately… It only makes a buzz when there is a problem.
Clarisse Agbegnenou who won a 4th world title, it goes more or less unnoticed.
While an accusation of sexual violence, everyone will talk about it.
Which is very good, be careful, you mustn't misunderstand me.
The end of the law of silence in sport is an extraordinary step forward.
But in women's sport there are also a lot of great stories and extraordinary performances that also deserve to be highlighted.
It's annoying that we don't talk more about these positive things.
Athletes, and women, raise awareness of serious issues. Do you think they have a different message to convey from that of men?
Yes, clearly, and we can see it now in the world of entrepreneurship.
We see in the ranking published by Forbes that there are more and more women in the 30 most influential people in the world.
There are more women running multinationals, codes are shifting with feminist movements.
Things are moving in the corporate world and I hope that the sports world will follow.
Sportswomen also have beautiful messages to pass on.
⚡The EDF Team is getting stronger!
⚡
New athletes join the great family of Team EDF!
Together, we are committed to common goals that are close to our hearts, starting with making @ Paris2024 the most responsible Games in history!
♻️ # EnergieduSportpic.twitter.com / BRBUrZnGrv
- Energy of Sport (@energiedusport) October 22, 2020
In particular yours in favor of the environment…
Yes, it is a subject on which I decided to venture out because it is close to my heart.
The little word I have with the media, I realized that I could use it to defend a cause such as ecology and to sensitize certain people.
This allows you to have a partner, EDF, who might not have come to you without this message…
Absolutely.
For me, when I bond with a partner, we have to share the same values, otherwise it doesn't make sense.
We have to be on the same wavelength.
This is the case with the EDF Team (founded in 2009 and which now has 28 athletes including cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévost or swimmer Charlotte Bonnet), of which I am a member with other athletes.
Some defend disability, diversity, ecology… These are values in which I find myself.
And as together we are stronger to make our voice heard.
Not to mention the legitimacy of EDF in this area.
It is a real advantage for me to have been able to join forces with them to be able to defend the environmental cause better than alone in my little corner.
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