2024-02-27 16:25:11
The French athletes who will participate in the Paris Games this summer will only be entitled to two places for their loved ones, as the sacred monster of judo suggested on the set of the show “What a time!” February 24? “Libé” takes stock.
The question has arisen in public debate since Teddy Riner tripped on the tatami this weekend. How many places are French athletes qualified for the Olympics entitled to? Saturday, on the set of the show “Quelle Epoque!” broadcast on France 2, the multi-medalist judoka expressed his disappointment at having only obtained two medals for those around him. “I am fighting every day to get places,” he lamented, before specifying: “I am entitled to two places […] on my day. A statement which caused surprise on the set and has since sparked strong reactions, particularly regarding the price of tickets for ordinary mortals. What exactly is it?
How many places will a French athlete benefit from?
In the television sequence, Teddy Riner refers to the places given by the French judo federation (FFJ). However, it does not specify that the directives concerning ticketing decided by the organizers of the Paris Games provide that each qualified French athlete automatically receives six places. Of these six tickets, four are offered by the State “for each of the sessions where he/she is in the running”, recalled on X the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castera.
These places are allocated through “Gagner en France”, a system initiated by the National Sports Agency (ANS), this unit created in 2019 and financed by the State, one of the main missions of which is to develop high French standards. This overall aid is budgeted at 1.6 million euros.
In addition to these four places, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reserves two others for athletes. Here again, holders of these places must only use them for sessions where the athlete in question appears. This process applies to all Paralympic athletes.
Beyond this minimum of six allocated places, each federation is free to reserve additional places for their athletes. In this case, with the two places granted to him by his federation, Teddy Riner has a total of eight places to redistribute free of charge to his loved ones.
“On the side of the Judo Federation (FFJDA), we are offering two more, which will allow athletes to benefit from eight places per session, confirmed Sunday at the Parisian Stéphane Nomis, president of the FFJDA. So yes, we assume to offer only “two” more to the athletes, as Teddy Riner points out, especially since the Federation and the French State do a lot for the athletes who have never been so well supported, at all levels. And Teddy too.”
Given that each federation sets its own ticketing policy, it is complicated to draw up a general inventory. Especially since several factors can be taken into account: the capacity of the stadium which hosts the discipline, the state of the finances of the federation or even the notoriety of the athlete in question.
For example, the swimming and disabled sports federations stick to the six basic places, while the fencing federation has not yet decided this question.
What can an Olympic athlete attend?
With his accreditation, an athlete is authorized to attend all events in his own discipline, including when he is not competing himself. But if he wishes to watch another sport, he must make a request to the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF). He was allocated a quota of places by the IOC. It is therefore he who must decide on each athlete’s request of this type. Asked by Libération on this point, the CNOSF did not respond.
Another way for athletes to attend events: go through the classic paid ticketing process, like any citizen.
What about the relatives of management members?
Other tickets are also reserved for the entourage of management members. That is to say the coaches, assistants and other trainers…
The National Technical Directorate of each federation thus benefits from a certain total of free tickets for these accredited persons, the number of which varies for each body.
Was this process the same during the other Olympics?
The set of ticketing rules for athletes’ relatives vary from one Olympics to another. In some cases, free or discounted tickets may be offered to families, depending on the policy decided by the organizing committee and the arrangements made by the national Olympic committees.
The last Tokyo Games, under Covid, gave rise to a more restrictive regime at the time. Unlike previous Olympics, only the athletes’ support team was authorized to accompany them during the competition. Only a concession decreed by the organizing committee authorized sportswomen who were breastfeeding to take their children to the Games “if necessary”.
But if we go back to the London Games in 2012, which the organizers of Paris 2024 are accustomed to citing in comparison, the families of able-bodied British athletes benefited from only two free tickets, via a program financed by Olympic sponsor Procter & Gamble . On the other hand, up to four tickets could be allocated to relatives of members of the Paralympic team.
In either case, these quotas remain lower than that in force for the next Olympics.
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