The Olympic Games in Paris in 2024! Athletes, organizers, local authorities and the public have only this in mind. In Normandy, in Mirville to be exact, in the heart of the Pays de Caux, the Olympics have a different resonance. Here, the descendants of Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937), the father of modern games, are renovating the family castle built in the 16th century and preparing for the passage of the Olympic and Paralympic flames, which many local communities want. An event that everyone wants as flamboyant as in 1991, before the Albertville Olympics. The flame then passed through Mirville.
The property was acquired in 1830 by the painter Charles de Coubertin and the family quickly decided to come and settle in the Pays de Caux, very popular at the time by the Impressionists including Claude Monet. It was from this base, before his departure for Switzerland, that Pierre de Coubertin imagined the most famous and followed sporting event in the world: “At the end of the 19th century, he was in deep disagreement about education in France , explains Jacques de Navacelle, the great-grand-nephew and current owner of the estate. He campaigned to integrate sport in order to make balanced beings. His models were England and the United States. There was a lot of opposition. So, with its Hellenic culture, Olympia challenges it. He founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. In 1897, the first congress took place in Le Havre and the first Olympic Games in Athens, followed by Paris in 1900.
Since then, in the family, “Olympism is in the background”. “My father thus developed close relations with the IOC from the 1960s until the beginning of the 2000s,” continues Jacques de Navacelle. He was decorated with the Olympic Order and edited all the works of Pierre de Coubertin. I then took up the torch for about ten years before the following generations created the Pierre de Coubertin Family Association. They are about 25 and are now the interlocutors of the international committee. »
Paris 2024 will not only be a celebration of sport but also the occasion to celebrate the centenary of the last Olympics in the capital. In 1924, these were also the last under the authority of the founder. The one who has no less than 364 streets, avenues, boulevards or squares to his name in France, 23 schools, 112 sports complexes and stadiums and no less than 42 places in the world will he be celebrated at his height? “With the slogan, Higher, faster, stronger, Pierre de Coubertin is a myth. At the IOC, nearly a century after his departure, his image is still very strong. Its name is protected from any malicious commercial use. »
350,000 works planned
“The family never sought an official position or recognition, like when General De Gaulle wanted to pantheonize him. But now, with his body in Lausanne, his heart in Olympia, his memory could join the crypt of great women and great men, agrees Jacques de Navacelle. Since he did not have good relations with the government, he never had the Legion of Honor and still does. Paris 2024 is really an opportunity for a form of rehabilitation. »
All that the descendant can indicate is that the IOC is planning a major exhibition with the services of the Lausanne museum. “A team from the COJO (Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) takes care of the historical part, specifies Jacques de Navacelle. She surrounded herself with renowned historians. I also know that President Emmanuel Macron has asked for a film on Pierre de Coubertin to be shown to him. A lot of people are circling around that. But it’s still a bit early. »
Recently, the Department of Seine-Maritime volunteered to participate actively in the organization of Paris 2024, in particular in the traditional Olympic and Paralympic torch relay: “It is obvious that for us, the family, the passage of flames is an essential event. From the moment we know, this will trigger a series of projects. The whole region is motivated, President Hervé Morin (of the regional council, editor’s note) would also like them to pass through the Landing beaches. He finds the symbol interesting. Rouen, Bolbec and Le Havre also want to be part of the course. At the castle, as in 1991, we are planning a day of festivities. For this, we launched 350,000 euros of renovation work subsidized by the Normandy region, the Drac and the CIO. At the moment we are working on the official circuit. We will know everything during the first quarter of 2022,” says Jacques de Navacelle.
