Photo: Xavier DE COOMAN
Today, esports are increasingly recognized and above all benefit from better press. Not so long ago, the only prism that interested the mainstream media was those of addiction and incitement to violence. Luckily for us, even the boomers are starting to change tack and we are more and more interested in the performance and passion of competitive video game practice.
Many non-endemic players are embarking on the esports adventure. The most telling example is surely sports clubs like Schalke 04the FC Barcelona or even the PSG. But while esports is primarily aimed at young people, schools and training organizations are also present. In Rennes, theInsaLan has been organized for several years by Insa, an engineering school. On League of Legends, we can also talk about the big league, where players come to represent their university. Seeing a school get involved is therefore not surprising. But when it’s a military schoolthe situation is a little different and it is inevitably a bit controversial.
Saint-Cyr, a name that speaks outside of esports
The special military school of Saint-Cyr, more often abbreviated to “Saint-Cyr” is a name that speaks to everyone. It is responsible for training army officers and is one of the 6 major French military schools. Founded in 1802 by Napoleon 1st, it carries with it a heritage, an identity and a well-identified brand. Recognized by some for the quality of her training and the values she defends, others will have a much more critical opinion on her “conservative” side, based in particular on the testimonies denouncing Sexism and Team spirit. Feel free to form your own opinion, but remember one thing: Saint-Cyr is something.
This renowned military school has decided to launch an esports team that will represent the AMSCC: Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Military Academy. We don’t know the details yet, but the team will initially be made up of 12 cadets who will take part in thenational esports competitionsObviously, we can’t imagine seeing the school represented in LFL (League of Legends) or VRL France (Valorant). On the other hand, we expect to find the team in French LANs (GA, Lyon e- sport…). Nor has it been specified which games will be targeted as a priority. The world of esports is vast and we imagine that the school will also adapt to the profiles of interested players. don’t know if that’s a clue, but in their communication AMSCC used a photo of players on Summoner’s Rift League of Legends.
A rather lukewarm reception within the community
This team joins the project lnx esportan initiative launched by the Ministry of Armies and Florence Parly. And as you might expect, the community is very divided on the subject. The most benevolent applaud, assuming that every initiative to develop esports is good. While the environment has often suffered from a lack of legitimacy and recognition, seeing outside and traditional players arrive testifies to a change in mentalities.
But several influential voices took the news very coldly. We can cite Xavier Oswald (Karmine Corp) and Nico Besombes (sociologist). The latter are wary of the power of attraction of the army, which regularly tries to talk to young people to recruit new members. And we are very well placed to know that waging war on the internet is really not the same as waging war in real life. Obviously, it is not constructive to condemn an initiative that has just been born and for the moment there has not yet been a misstep. But when we look at the setbacks that there have been in the United States, we have already been able to see that esports and the army do not necessarily go well together.
esports
It is not known if Emmanuel Macron saw the figures of Sardoche during the debate between the two rounds. But he knows full well that young people abstained en masse during the first round… He therefore sent a little message to esports fans, who are often young people.