“Politicians are more interested in medals than in the application of the law on accessibility” – Libération

For the historian of physical education and disability Yacine-Xavier Tajri, the Games are also “the moment to assert demands”, while the law in favor of the inclusion of people with disabilities remains “fairly little applied” .

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Particularly followed by supporters, relayed by the press and praised by politicians, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are a success. Will these ten days of competition make it possible to make up for the years France lags behind in the inclusion of disabled people in our societies and in sport? For Yacine-Xavier Tajri, lecturer in STAPS at the Gustave Eiffel University of Champs-sur-Marne and historian of physical education and disability, this “showcase” must leave room for more efforts to, in particular, enforce the 2005 law, which provides in particular for the accessibility of “establishments open to the public”, a very broad category encompassing shops, schools, transport, etc.

The Paralympic Games are coming to an end. What conclusions do you draw from it?

This is a pleasant surprise for me. I didn’t think there would be such enthusiasm and so many spectators who responded. I saw a change in the stands. Many able-bodied people come to watch these Paralympic Games. And I have the impression that there are new debates in society around disability, a global change of point of view on the part of able-bodied people. It will be especially important to see after the Games if there is still this enthusiasm around disability and parasport. Moreover, in the Paris 2024 bid project, heritage was placed at the heart of the commitments.

Isn’t that a beautiful display?

There is a showcase effect from a political point of view. Politicians talk a lot about disability and Paralympism, as do the media. But perhaps now is also the time to make demands.

While only 1.4% sports clubs are able to accommodate people with disabilities, can the JOPs make sport more accessible?

You might think so, but there are a lot of limitations. Over the last three years, there have been disability awareness actions aimed at able-bodied athletes in certain schools and certain clubs. In terms of inclusion, we must think about territorial inequalities. It is the city of Paris which is hosting the Paralympic Games, and not France. The investments made in Ile-de-France mean that this territory will be better equipped with infrastructure than the rest of the country. For example, we built a nautical stadium in Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne), not in Alsace. Large cities have more resources to carry out construction sites, even if there is still a clear deficit in accessibility for people with disabilities. When a city has a real desire to find space to build suitable infrastructure, it finds it.

Where is France in terms of accessibility of public spaces to people with disabilities and inclusion in society?

The 2005 law [sur l’accessibilité] has been little applied. It set objectives for 2015, but the results are bad, and we still see it today. The new buildings meet standards, but the old ones do not. Politicians are more interested in medals than in the application of this law. Furthermore, there is a problem in the representation that people have of disability. We immediately think of PMR [personne à mobilité réduite] in a wheelchair, this is what the acronym “space reserved for PRMs” represents in car parks. But there are a variety of disabilities. The chair is the visible handicap. But there is also deafness, low vision, intellectual and psychological disabilities…