By
Coulommiers Editorial
Published on
September 21, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.
See my news
Follow the Briard Country
A beautiful ceremony worthy of an Olympic medal ceremony! Accompanied by the prefect of Aisne, Thomas Campeaux, and departmental elected officials, the president of the Department, Nicolas Fricoteaux warmly congratulated the sports, associative and territorial stakeholders represented by local elected officials, presidents of departmental sports committees, clubs, volunteers as well as departmental agents invested in the success of the passage of the Olympic and Paralympic Flames.
World holiday
Local elected officials, presidents of departmental sports committees, clubs and volunteers have invested their efforts to ensure that the Aisne department, its towns and villages, its clubs, are present at this great global sports festival.
The welcome given to these delegations allowed the Olympic athletes to interact with the young people of Axon and to communicate their passion for sport and create wonderful memories.
Very early on, three years ago, the Department expressed its desire to host the Olympic Torch Relay, with the hope of also hosting the Paralympic Flame. It was the initiator of this application, which was accepted by the Olympic Games Organizing Committee.
As we remember, on July 17, seven cities hosted the Olympic Torch Relay: Château-Thierry, Villers-Cotterêts, Soissons, Laon, Axo’plage in Monampteuil, Guise and Saint-Quentin as a stopover city. On August 26, Laon was chosen as a stopover city for the Paralympic Relay.
Huge success
The Department and all the communities involved carried out this in-depth work collectively so that this event would shine throughout the territory, around the AISNE 2024 brand, bringing together all the communities, sports committees, athletes, clubs and associations, the torchbearers, etc. for a festive day that left its mark: two days of communion in the territory, moments of sharing, joy, and popular jubilation.
Nearly 60,000 spectators on July 17, 5,000 children, 90 leisure centers welcomed for sports workshops, 100 torchbearers, dozens of articles, thousands of photos on social networks… It’s a huge success, just like these Games.
The success of this operation for the territories that participated is undeniable, the images testify to it through the smiles of the torchbearers, the children, the applause of the crowd, the highlighting of the heritage and exceptional cultural sites: the international city of the French language, the Familistère de Guise, the cathedrals of Soissons and Laon, Château-Thierry the poetic city, Axo’plage, the departmental leisure center and Saint-Quentin and its Art Deco heritage… The people of Aisne and the torchbearers have shown their attachment to this territory, flying the colors of Aisne high. It’s a source of pride!
Pride for all
On August 26, 5,000 spectators were present in Laon for the passage of the Paralympic Flame. Once again a successful day and a growing enthusiasm for these Paralympic Games. The Department is proud to have been able to welcome the Paralympic Flame on its territory, it is indeed the community in charge of human solidarity, and in particular of questions related to Disability with the MDPH. Thus, our community is investing in favor of inclusion at all levels, including in sport.
This year, the Aisne Department funded the Inclusive Club program, which trained Aisne clubs to welcome people with disabilities. For these Paralympic Games, we had the pleasure of highlighting several athletes, admirable sportsmen, who shone during these Games, without medals at stake, but with great performances and great progress.
Sports aids
The President of the Departmental Council, Nicolas Fricoteaux, also wanted to mention the budgetary situation of the Departments and their difficulties: “Without an overhaul of the way they are financed, the departments may well no longer be able to meet the challenge, as they have always been, in support of shared skills, such as sport, or in addition to the actions carried out by other communities or by the State.”
Then he concluded: “As you know, we will continue to fight to be heard, in order to maintain room for maneuver that will allow us to maintain our constant support for the development of sports practice. The budgetary situation is complicated today, and if the essentials have been maintained, we unfortunately have no certainty today about the future of our funding.”
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to My News.
