The rear of the Blues, Olympic vice-champion in Tokyo, speaks of a “lack of respect” towards the athletes, who will perform on the grounds of the Agricultural Show during the first round.
A time scheduled at the AccorHotels Arena in Bercy then at Arena 2 Porte de la Chapelle, the preliminary basketball tournament for the next Paris 2024 Games will take place… at the Parc des expositions du 15e district of Paris. If the final phase of the tournament will take place well in Bercy, the matches of the first round will be played in Hall 6 of the Porte de Versailles site, where the donkeys had taken up residence two weeks ago as part of the Salon de l’ Agriculture. “If that’s really what’s happening, that’s big m… It doesn’t make sense, gets carried away Evan Fournier, the international rear questioned by The Team . The major sport of the Olympics is athletics. But as a team sport, basketball is number 1.»
They really think of playing Team USA, its stars who weigh in the tens of millions and play in giant arenas every night, under these conditions?
Evan Fournier
Originally from Charenton-le-Pont, not far from the sports hall in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, Fournier, among the driving forces of the French basketball team, denounces a lack of respect. “We are Olympic vice-champions, at home, and they do not guarantee a real room? If so, they’re suckers and they’re kidding us. And they really think of playing Team USA, its stars who weigh in the tens of millions and play in giant Arenas every night, under these conditions?»
Badminton attracts how many people in the stands seriously?
Evan Fournier, in L’Equipe
A relocation born of the need to have a ceiling of 11 meters for badminton, 12 m for rhythmic gymnastics, tests sent to the Chapel, a room designed… for basketball, the time of the first round of the orange ball. The latter will therefore take place under a ceiling of 9 meters at the Parc des expositions, a ceiling lower than ever and which raises the question of the installation of a jumbotron (giant screen). Other problems arise, in particular that of insufficient ventilation which can generate humidity. “I understand that at the Games, each discipline must have its placeassures the New York Knicks player. But badminton attracts how many people in the stands seriously? I am disappointed, angry. It makes me hate. Something like that would never happen in the United States.»
Handball in Lille
So while the OCOG does intend to carry out the necessary work to redevelop Hall 6, starting with the installation of 8,000-seat bleachers, the conditions do not seem ideal. “We are not immune to franchises, when they understand, putting pressure on their players not to go therewarns Fournier.
You should know that this controversy linked to the number 1 team sport at the Games is not isolated. Thus, the handball players had expressed their disappointment at seeing the Olympic tournament relocated to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, the den of Lille OSC. “It made me ch… It’s a real disappointment, regretted in The Team the international goalkeeper Vincent Gérard, passed by Dunkirk. Clearly, this is not the Olympics. I experienced the Games in Rio in the Olympic village, it’s something to experience and I was delighted to play in Paris, very close to my home. To be apart like that, in fact, it has no interest.“His partner Nedim Remili had followed suit:”being away from the madness of Paris during these Olympics is going to be sad.»