It was expected. It's now official. As we announced a few weeks ago, the France gymnastics center of Marseille, a structure facing many scandals and one of whose leaders was recently convicted of moral harassment, will definitively close its doors on June 30.
"Both financial problems, governance problems and ethical issues mean that the Federation's steering committee came to this (closure) decision," Kevinn Rabaud, national technical director of the FFGym, told AFP.
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For the first time 6 former gymnasts of the women's France team reveal the physical and psychological violence they say they have been victims. Our guest @AOC1978, Minister of Sport réagira@thierryvildary pic.twitter.com/rrUsp0SyrL
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) May 13, 2023
The announcement is not a surprise since the France pole, which knew it had been threatened for several weeks, had indicated in a statement broadcast on social networks on May 21, that "the French Gymnastics Federation [had] convened the president of the pole for a meeting this Saturday, May 20 in Miramas to announce the decision to close the Marseille pole on June 30, 2023 "... "The president is summoned to resign on Monday and all activities stopped on June 30. Titular gymnasts, incoming gymnasts, and employees are being fired."
These measures follow several complaints of abuse. On May 31, Le Parisien published the shocking testimony of a former resident of the gymnastics center of Marseille, Amara, who years after the fact still suffered from eating disorders and has the after-effects of a serious ankle injury.
Closure effective June 30
At the beginning of May, one of the leaders of this pole, Vincent Pateau, had been sentenced to six months in prison suspended and 10,000 euros fine for moral harassment of three young gymnasts.
Beyond this case, the structure was also facing significant financial problems, the Federation bearing the expenses of the pole for several months. The hypothesis of the sustainability of the pole in another form was considered but "these projects did not seem tenable to us," added Kevinn Rabaud.
The closure will be effective on June 30 and alternative solutions in other poles or in regional structures are being studied for gymnasts in training in this pole, assured the Federation.
