What prompted the French Paralympic movement to launch this great popular referendum to appoint its flag bearers in Tokyo?
Marie-Amélie Le Fur:
What prompted us to get started was the observation of a lack of promotion of Paralympic athletes in France.
We realize that the general public is still struggling to identify some great Paralympic champions, and therefore to have the click to follow them on television.
So the idea behind this campaign is to show people some faces of the France Paralympic team.
Today, we actually feel that there is a real enthusiasm among the general public for the Paralympic Games, but less so for the athletes themselves. How do you explain this paradox?
Quite simply because it is more complicated, until now, to know them. People get interested in the Paralympics every four years, but there's a lack of tracking between. Suddenly, it's true that when you ask people to name one or two names of Paralympic athletes, it's often a Michaël Jeremiasz (tennis) or a Théo Curin (swimming) who will come out. The spectrum of knowledge of Paralympic champions is too low today in France. Hence the ambition of this campaign to designate the flag bearers to offer a media showcase to new faces who appear to us to be emblematic of the Paralympic movement. We also know that through the link that can be created through this campaign, it will encourage people to go and discover the whole.There is a real desire that the interest is not limited to the Paralympic Games, but to the athletes and to follow the Paralympic movement until Paris 2024.
“We need to give the general public the opportunity to hear other, different voices.
You have to vary the faces.
"
Marie-Amélie Le Fur
Paradoxically, you are one of the most famous Paralympic athletes to the general public and yet you have never been a flag bearer ...
Indeed (smile). I did not wish to propose my candidacy for Tokyo quite simply because I already have a double hat of athlete and president of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) that I want to carry out correctly. And then I insist on this desire to expand the role that is taken by the various athletes. I think that my media window is offered to me on different occasions. There, we must give the general public the opportunity to hear other, different voices. You have to vary the faces. While we are all driven by the idea of defending Paralympic sport, we also each have our own convictions and a different personal experience. The Paralympic movement is rich in many beautiful life courses.
What does being a flag bearer mean to you?
It is a very important role, which is mobilizing for purposes of preparation. Accepting this role is not trivial. I think our seven candidates weighed the very positive side of such a role, but also the risk that it can be. They applied knowingly.
If this campaign only concerns Paralympic flag bearers, is it to prevent it from being vampirized by Olympic athletes if you had done the same with them?
No, there was no real consultation like this. The CNOSF (French National Olympic and Sports Committee) had changed its voting method before Rio with the establishment of large voters in each discipline and we, for our part, were left free to choose our method of appointment. It was a parallel choice, made according to our respective needs.
You must be very satisfied with this choice of having a male and female flag bearer…
It's a great step forward. We did not wait for this obligation of parity for the women flag bearers to lead the Paralympic delegation. But this pair offers the opportunity to have two faces to represent the France team, so two complementary personalities in the speeches. This can be complementary in terms of sports or handicaps.
From a global point of view, you have been at the heart of the Paralympic movement for ten years. How do you judge the evolution? Is it positive in your eyes?
We are on an upward slope. Afterwards, is it sufficient? I don't necessarily agree. We must not forget that in three years we will be hosting the Games in Paris and the recognition of the Paralympic movement and its athletes really needs to accelerate if we want to have a lasting legacy. We need even more mobilization of the French media in all their forms and ensure that the Paralympic movement lives outside the Games. We must show the general public that Paralympic sport is top-level sport, with a specificity: handicap.We have three years to accelerate this communication.
