Marie-George Buffet must present, Thursday, December 7, the conclusions of the report of the national committee to strengthen ethics and democratic life in sport, which she co-chairs with ex-athlete Stéphane Diagana. Created at the end of March at the request of the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP), Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the committee formulates thirty-seven proposals and pleads for the imposition of “strong new measures”.
Former Minister of Sports (from 1997 to 2002), Marie-George Buffet provides an uncompromising overview of French sport, less than eight months before the Paris 2024 Games: “A weakened movement”she said, where reigns “the culture of oneself”and who needs“a profound renewal”.
After eight months of hearings, what is your feeling about the French sports movement?
The term that came up the most during the 170 hearings we conducted was the feeling of “fragility”. French sports actors and actresses, who were a little defensive during the auditions, feel that things are not going well, that they are having difficulty meeting expectations. Of course, there are people who cling to power and leaders who appear very confident, but that is not the majority. This is why I use the word fragility.
Numerous scandals have marred French sport in recent years (ice sports, football, rugby, etc.). No federation seems spared from dysfunctions. What is sick of sport today?
It is sick, it is weakened by phenomena of financialization, political and geopolitical exploitation. There is also the transformation of practices, new societal requirements, etc. And faced with all these challenges, we have a sports movement which does not always have the means or which does not give itself the skills to respond to them. The culture of in-betweenness that reigns there also slows down its ability to respond.
And then there is the question of power. One of our proposals concerns the duration of mandates, the limitation of accumulation. These measures should help promote renewal at the head of the federations. We need to involve clubs more in elections and general assemblies. And then we need strict parity and proportionality everywhere, even in federal executives, so that there is a minimum of debate on political orientations and choices.
In recent weeks, cases of sexual and gender-based violence have been at the heart of the hearings of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the failures of the federations. Is there any specificity of sport in this matter?
You have 75% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.