The contingent of French athletes during the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games (Brazil), August 5, 2016. ANDREW BOYERS / REUTERS
Given the current events in France, it is difficult to avoid the collision between sport and politics, as the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (OG) approach. Just five days after the second round of the legislative elections, which could bring a far-right majority to power, the four flag bearers of the French delegation – two male-female pairs, one for the Olympic Games, the other for the Paralympic Games (PG) – will be announced on Friday, July 12. On the front line, they will lead the French troops during the opening ceremonies on July 26 (OG) and August 28 (PG). “Being a flag bearer means representing the face of the team during the Olympic Games, and that of the country too”assures judoka Romane Dicko, one of the seventeen candidates (thirteen athletes and four para-athletes) for this honorary role.
Like the other contenders, the bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics finds herself at the heart of an “election campaign” which has taken a strange turn after colliding with that of the legislative elections. Because the names of the candidates were revealed on June 13 by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF), less than a week after Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9. And the new designation procedures involve bringing people together: for the first time in France, the flag bearers will be elected by the entire French delegation (around 565 Olympic athletes and 240 Paralympic athletes). A choice made by French sports officials, who wanted to make this vote – electronically on July 9 and 10 – a highlight of the Paris Games. For a long time, the decision was made by the boards of directors of the CNOSF and the CPSF. For the Tokyo Games in 2021, the process had already evolved: judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou and gymnast Samir Ait Saïd had been chosen following a vote by the 59 athlete ambassadors designated by the federations.
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“I didn’t campaign with the athletes, it’s not the Olympic spirit”says Wendie Renard, captain of the French women’s football team and one of the candidates. “I didn’t hand out leaflets or go to the markets”adds discus thrower Mélina Robert-Michon. For each “campaign,” each of the candidates – eighteen initially, but seventeen since pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie failed to qualify – submitted a “profession of faith” in the form of a one-minute-and-thirty-second video. Since most of them were recorded before June 9, they do not refer to the legislative elections.
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2024-07-03 04:00:51
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