Never before has the city experienced two simultaneous successes of this kind. Not even when hockey players dominated the Magnus League (French champions in 96 and 97), or when L’Étendard reached Pro A basketball in 2005. Better still, Brest appears in the very closed circle of French cities that can support two clubs in the queen of European competitions in their discipline, alongside Paris, Lyon, Monaco or Montpellier.
Ultimate and Olympic year
And behind? It would be enough to count the number of athletes invited to the mayor’s office in recent months to judge the quality of the vintage. The entire SB29 team, after its third place in the championship, was naturally honored, as was the cyclist Valentin Madouas, first for his exploits on the Tour de France, then with the Olympic medalists from Brest: the footballer Bradley Locko, handball players Pauletta Foppa, Alicia Toublanc, Cléopatre Darleux and Camille Lassource, basketball player Marième Badiane and again the swimmer Paralympic Emeline Pierre, gold medalist who thanked her adopted city, Brest, barely out of the Olympic pool.
The town hall could also have seen Fabien Causeur, once again titled in basketball with Madrid, Griedge Mbock, pillar of the French football team, Ben Carpentier, French, European and world sup surfing champion during the last two seasons… And again the entire field of the Arkéa Ultim Challenge, this madness which has put Brest back at the forefront of ocean racing. To exaggerate, we could even recall that if Spain won the Euro football championship, it was with Robin Le Normand, largely trained in… Brest, obviously!
What happens next, the glorious uncertainty of sport will be responsible for writing it. But we have noted that at least two contenders (Thomas Coville and François Gabart) should set out to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy in the coming weeks, while the women’s Tour de France will stop in Brest next summer. Enough, whatever the outcome of the European adventures of footballers and handball players and while waiting for the construction of the future Arkéa Park, to keep Brest at the heart of sporting news.
“There is a real sports culture in the city”
Deputy in charge of sports at the City of Brest, Patrick Appéré welcomes the “golden parenthesis” that Brest sport is experiencing. Even if he does not hide his concern about the financing of neighborhood facilities.
What can the current success of Brest sport bring to the city?
“A hell of a notoriety! I was elected president of Andes, the national association of deputies responsible for sports, where 8,000 municipalities are represented. Well, people only talk to me about Stade Brestois! All of France loves this story of Little Thumb, who succeeds not by luck, but by his talent and his desire. And then the successes of pros or Olympic athletes send back the desire for high level, for success, even in the amateur world. Look at Émeline Pierre’s gold medal in Paralympic swimming, it gives a lot of momentum to her club (the Cercle des nageurs Brestois), which has passed the 1,000 member mark. And a positive spirit throughout the city.”
How can we explain these successes?
“A lot of it is down to Gérard and Denis Le Saint, at the Stade and at BBH (Brest Bretagne Handball). But it is also a question of networks, which François Cuillandre immediately understood and encouraged. The distance of Brest from the major decision-making centers requires us to work together to succeed. In the VIP lounge at the Stadium or at the BBH, after the match we find the economic world, elected officials, representatives of the National Navy, associations… Everyone discusses and brings out good ideas. It is also in these moments that we build our city. We can be proud of our third halves.”
The success of the BBH and the Stadium is very much due to the Le Saint brothers. Isn’t this a risk for the future?
” No way. Stade Brestois has more than 650 partners. At the BBH, it must be 450. Look at PSG in football: if Qatar leaves tomorrow, it’s dead! Same in Rennes. Here, we are dealing with team captains who know how to bring people together and build, who are not at all in a logic of owning the clubs.”
The BBH and Stade Brestois are at the top. Is there room for a third high-level professional club in Brest?
“But we have it, with the Pôle France de voile! Afterwards, there could be the Albatross in hockey, but they need more private money to make it happen. And in basketball, the BMB (Brest Métropole Basket) could at least have the level of National 1. You also need the room for it. Today, the BMB plays in Provence in front of 3 or 400 people, it’s complicated. We are working to replace the Kerichen gymnasium, with a capacity of 1,200 places. Our model is this: a club must find its financing, we create the conditions to best receive the public and the partners who can provide this financing. We did it at Le Blé, at the Arena, we also just did it at the ice rink for the Albatross. Afterwards, the partners are always a bit the same, and the Stade and the BBH dry up the others a little. It’s not easy, but we have to keep working.”
