Quadruple Olympic champion Léon Marchand denounced the government's about-face after abandoning the generalization of two additional hours of weekly sport in college. The Minister of National Education Anne Genetet responded to him.
Will he be convinced by her explanations? After denouncing the government's about-face regarding the abandonment of the generalization of two hours of additional sports per week in college, Léon Marchand was entitled to a response from Anne Genetet. “Dear Léon Marchand, we are not abandoning this ambition, on the contrary: we are adapting it to make it more effective. More fair,” reacted the Minister of National Education on the social network X.
“We support those who need it most”
“More fair for the working classes: sports practice at school is now reinforced and targeted at priority education establishments, where students practice the least sport due to lack of means. We support those who need it the most “, she added. A little earlier, Léon Marchand, who became a quadruple Olympic champion last summer in Paris, had linked to an article on the subject by posting an emoticon representing a clown.
In the run-up to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, two measures have been launched in recent years at schools to help “make France a sporting nation” and fight against physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle among the youngest. It was “30 minutes of daily physical activity” from CP to CM2, generalized in 2022, and “two hours of additional sports for middle school students” tested for more than two years and extended to 700 middle schools per school year. last with the aim of being generalized in the next three years.
These two additional hours of sport have been extended to the start of the 2024 school year in priority education zones (around 1,100 middle schools). But the generalization of the system intended for middle school students was abandoned by National Education, the ministry explaining that it was “not sustainable” in a circular published last week in the Official Bulletin of National Education. This system, which “demonstrated the relevance of the measure for middle school students far from regular practice”, is however “still perceived as complex to implement” and will be “refocused only on establishments in priority education”, specified the ministry.
This Thursday, table tennis player Simon Gauzy, team bronze medalist at the Olympics with the Lebrun brothers, imitated Léon Marchand, but this time with three emojis of a person holding his hand to his face, as a sign of disappointment or spite after the government decision.
