Suggestions
28 November 2024
By Stéphane Pallez, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of FDJ Group
The Paris 2024 Games are now behind us, but we must continue working together to relay and amplify the dynamic of inclusion that was born this summer. We must ensure that it endures after the Olympic Flame has been extinguished.
Like many French people, I was deeply moved by the extraordinary surge of enthusiasm that the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games generated. During these weeks, our country united around the same values and dreams—something that many had lost faith in.
FDJ was present wherever the heartbeat of the Games was felt. We were able to fully experience the fervor of the public at the “Club France”, or at the “Club 24” in Lille, Marseille, and Paris, and even at the seaside resorts of the summer tour “La Grande Fête des Jeux” organized by FDJ.
How do we ensure that this momentum continues? And how do we talk about the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games – in 10, 20, or even 50 years—not only as an exceptional event but also as an accelerator of progress?
Our collective memory has been enriched with powerful memories, some of which already have the aura of myth: the Seine transformed into a floating theater, the Olympic Flame rising into the sky of Paris, the gold medal of the French rugby 7’s team with Antoine Dupont, the resurgence of French table tennis with the Lebrun brothers, and the crowning of the legendary Léon Marchand.
This summer also saw the emergence of new heroes and heroines in sports, who have marked the history with their disciplines. Among the members of the FDJ Sport Factory, Cassandre Beaugrand became the first French athlete to win gold in triathlon. Althéa Laurin won the first gold medal in Taekwondo. Charles Noakes moved us all by becoming the gold medalist in para-badminton, and Alexandre Léauté made French para-cycling shine by winning four medals, including two golds. Sixteen athletes from our collective won one or more medals and made the national anthem resonate.
These are all examples that will inspire the next generations of athletes. Their accomplishments have already conveyed the love of sport to many. Just look at the surge in registrations from certain clubs and federations to be convinced!
But desire alone is not enough. Access to sports practice is not the same for everyone. Age, gender, disability, origin, physical condition… these constitute barriers way too often.
Thus, we recognize the progress made by successfully organizing the first gender-equal Olympic Games in history in Paris, with 50% of qualification spots for women and 50% for men.
There will also be a “before” and “after” for para-athletes. Forty-five million French people followed the Paralympic Games on television, and more than 5 million attended the French team’s victory in the blind football final! This increase in visibility and recognition must now be used as a lever for greater inclusion in society.
Finally, the projects and sports facilities deployed across the country will benefit millions of practitioners in the long term. It is the case with the 54 freely accessible sports fields, installed as part of the “Gagner du Terrain” program led by FDJ in collaboration with the Olympic Games Organizing Committee, the National Sports Agency, and local authorities.
Partner companies, public authorities, citizens… We all have a role to play in making sport a stepping stone toward greater equality in society!
The Paris 2024 Games are now behind us, but we must continue working together to relay and amplify the spirit of inclusion that was born this summer. We must ensure that it endures after the Olympic Flame has been extinguished.
We must therefore continue our commitments. This is what we are doing today with a beautiful symbol, “La Cipale,” the legendary Jacques-Anquetil velodrome at the heart of the Bois de Vincennes in Paris, which FDJ and its Foundation are committed to renovating for 1.2 million euros.
The renovation of “La Cipale” will allow the public to return to a local facility to which they are attached and will also promote access to sports practice for all.
This track will notably host para-sports events and the women’s cycling event “La Cipalienne.” The restoration project itself will contribute to a dynamic of inclusion, with the support of associations specializing in the professional integration of vulnerable groups.
Partner companies, public authorities, citizens… We all have a role to play in making sport a stepping stone toward greater equality in society! And thus, maintaining the legacy of the Paris 2024 Games, so that we remember this historic moment as a turning point, when we were able to overcome our limits and unite to cross obstacles. A moment when the values of sport were put to the service of society, to make sustainable progress toward greater inclusion and equality.