Before putting on the crampons himself in the afternoon, Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday a "
huge boost
" to "
put sport at the heart of the nation
" by the 2024 Olympics in Paris with the construction of 5,000 local equipment.
An amount of 200 million euros will thus be released, confirmed the Head of State, still not declared a candidate for the 2022 presidential election, but who has been increasing investment announcements in recent weeks.
To discover
The results of the 2020 Olympics
The Olympic medal table
See also Emmanuel Macron footballer with the Variétés club de France: behind the scenes of a meticulously prepared visit
"
The objective is not simply to have medals, it is to put sport at the heart of the nation
", to "
allow it to be stronger
" in the perspective of the Olympics "
but also after
", with "
a heritage issue
", he argued from Tremblay-en-France (Seine-Saint-Denis), where he met young athletes, in the first part of a day entirely devoted to sport. And he intends to show that he sets an example: declared fan of OM, he will participate in the afternoon in Poissy (Yvelines) in a charity football match to mark the 50 years of the Variétés Club de France, received then at the Elysée for dinner.
Tony Parker was present this Thursday to accompany Emmanuel Macron.
SARAH MEYSSONNIER / REUTERS
At his side Thursday morning, the former professional basketball player Tony Parker warned him: "
It's 90 minutes long
".
"
We'll see if they take me out!"
"Retorted the president, who will"
try to look good
"as a right midfielder.
Announced on the field, the 1998 world champions Laurent Blanc, Christian Karembeu and Robert Pires, the former Blues Alain Giresse and Dominique Rocheteau, or the tennis player Richard Gasquet.
The match will be played against the team of caregivers from the Poissy Saint-Germain-en-Laye intercommunal hospital center and its recipe given to the Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France, chaired by Brigitte Macron.
I did not see many athletes shaken by what I had said.
We took stock and re-mobilized.
This is what all coaches do every day with their team, this is high level sport
Emmanuel Macron on his medal goals in 2024
In the meantime, Emmanuel Macron has praised a sports plan "
good for the whole nation
", which will "
give a huge boost to practices
" by 2024 with the construction of lighter equipment and closer to home or of the workplace.
The idea is to act at all levels: sport at school, amateur in club, or professional. With “
at least 50%
” funding provided by the State, 1,000 “
citystades
” (multisports ground), 1,000 dojos and combat sports halls, 500 3X3 basketball courts to boost practice, 500 courts will thus be built. paddle tennis, 500 skateparks, 200 mobile sports sites such as pools, or even “
innovative
”
equipment
using digital technology. They are a response to the criticisms of certain players in sport on the lack of resources. Regarding the high level, "
yes it's a bit late,
" recently admitted a ministerial adviser to AFP.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, emphasized the overall nature of his project: these investments, he stressed, are in addition to the sport pass, aid of 50 euros for families who receive the back-to-school allowance.
He also highlighted the appropriations dedicated to sport up 20% to 987 million euros in the 2022 draft budget.
Objective of medals
Asked also by the press on the criticisms concerning his remarks directing the French sportsmen after the Olympic Games in Tokyo to “
do much more
” in 2024 in terms of medals, he regretted “
journalistic comments
”: “
I did not saw a lot of athletes shaken by what I had said
”, he assured. “
We took stock and re-mobilized. That's what all the coaches do every day with their team, that's high-level sport
, ”he said.
Emmanuel Macron had set the French athletes during a reception at the Elysee Palace on their return from Tokyo the goal of being in the Top 5 nations in terms of medals at the Paris Olympics.
That is about 70 medals according to the Tokyo ranking.
But this goal is considered very ambitious by some, such as boxer Sarah Ourahmoune, vice-president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and Olympic vice-champion in Rio, for whom it should rather be “
50/60 medals
”.
Emmanuel Macron then went to the site of the Olympic village of Saint-Ouen on Thursday, where he met Prime Minister Jean Castex, before joining the headquarters of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG), in Saint -Denis.
