the legacy of the Olympics still far from the mark

More than five months after the closure of the Olympic and Paralympic “enchanted parenthesis” of Paris 2024, it is time to take stock. If the shock wave created by the Games was beyond measure – helped by the innovative opening ceremony on the Seine and memorable sporting performances – the fallout from this Olympiad is still far from expectations.

The legacy of Paris 2024, so much advocated by the Organizing Committee and the public authorities, does not really match the expectations established before the event. The return to reality is difficult to take. “I think we have a form of hangover and the depression is real. This sequence which has been wonderful is in the process of closing. And I think that this cannot be a parenthesis that we are closing. We are at a moment where we have the possibility of changing things concerning the practice of sport in France, except that we are completely against the tide,” notes bitterly the deputy Thierry Sother, elected in the 3^e Bas-Rhin constituency.

“More sport, less sugar”

It is with this in mind that he aims to defend a bill before the National Assembly, initially scheduled for December 12 before the fall of the government, entitled “More sport, less sugar”. In this text – which was not rejected by the commission which examines it beforehand and will therefore be discussed in 2025 in the hemicycle – the socialist deputy highlights the importance of sporting practice among the youngest while demonstrating a strong social disparity in access to sport.

Thus, Thierry Sother wants to rethink the Pass'Sport, this government aid of 50 euros allocated to children from the most disadvantaged families to facilitate registration in sports associations or the purchase of equipment necessary for the practice of physical activity. “Only 13% of young French people today meet the WHO recommendation for physical activity. The first obstacle to practicing sports is the financial question. With this measure to universalize the Pass'Sport, I want to allow children aged 3 to 17 to take out a license in a club by increasing the amount to 75 euros for all. For households that are most in precarious situations, the aid would be 150 euros,” explains Thierry Sother.

Because yes, the impact of events as important as the Olympic Games is measured in particular on the social impact in the organizing country. Especially when the practice of sport was declared a “Great National Cause” in 2024 and Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to establish “a National Sports Festival” every September 14 after the success of the Games. “And at the same time, there was the abandonment of the two additional hours of weekly sport at college. It makes no sense,” complains the deputy for Bas-Rhin.

Bad anticipation

To finance this generalization of Pass'Sport, estimated at an additional 260 million euros, Thierry Sother has identified a very specific solution: implementing an additional tax on sugary drinks. “Like a sedentary lifestyle, sugar is an invisible threat to the health of our children. About ten years ago, Great Britain implemented this tax and thanks to it, sports practice in schools was financed. The objective is therefore to model itself on the British model, which has proven itself,” says the MP.

However, the French sports federations experienced a significant increase in licensees after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A well-known phenomenon, which had already manifested itself after the London Olympics in 2012 or Rio in 2016. However, the clubs are facing new problems, particularly in terms of reception capacity. “There is a severe lack of infrastructure in France but once again, it is a problem linked to poor anticipation and the lack of financial investment from the State in sport,” underlines Thierry Sother. Money is always the key to war…