As France’s sports budget faces cuts, are Olympic promises being broken?

One year on from the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, French politicians and sports organisations are hitting out at the government’s proposed cuts to the budget for sport – after pledges to improve access to grassroots sport were made following the country’s record medal haul last summer.

French athletes won 16 golds in a tally of 64 medals during the 2024 Olympics, while at the Paralympics they took 85 – their best showing at the event since 1984.

Politicians from across the spectrum lined up to salute the achievements of the French stars of the Games, including cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, swimmer Léon Marchand, judoka Teddy Riner and table tennis players Alexis and Félix Lebrun at the Olympics and Paralympic swimmers Ugo Didier and Alex Portal.

Local sports clubs braced themselves for a flurry of applications, inspired by French success.

Philippe Bana, president of the French Handball Federation, told RFI: “The Olympic effect was spectacular. It wasn’t a boom, it was an explosion. All our clubs were full. We were unable to take on any more members. We had to divide the pitches in half to accommodate more teams.”

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The French Olympic and Paralympic committees – the CNOSF and CPSF – vowed to work towards even greater sporting glory.

“The Games have created a strong momentum that the CNOSF will continue to build on with the aim of changing mindsets and behaviours for a long-term impact.” said Gilles Erb, head of the legacy commission at France’s National Sports Agency, who is high in the ranks of the CNOSF.

“Having worked to lay the foundations for the legacy of the Games, it is now up to the CNOSF, alongside other French sports institutions, to strengthen this legacy and make it a success that benefits everyone,” said Erb.

“The Games have enabled the creation of programmes that bring people together, have an impact and encourage commitment and which have mobilised a large part of the French population – particularly the youngest audiences.”

Cutbacks in public spending

However, in January 2025, François Bayrou’s administration announced that the sport budget would be slashed from €1.7 billion to €1.4bn, as part of general cutbacks in public spending.

A petition signed by 400 leading athletes, including Riner, hit out at the plans.

“This is not just a matter of economics, it is sabotaging our ability to live together,” the signatories wrote. “With the [Olympic and Paralympic] Games, we have proven that sport is a powerful lever for education, health, social cohesion and physical and mental wellbeing.

“There is a desire to betray the ambition and vision of the Paris 2024 Games, which have succeeded in uniting and bringing together all French people, across all regions of the Republic.”

In a statement to sports newspaper L’Equipe Macron said that he agreed with the athletes, adding: “Since 2017, I have ensured that the sports budget has increased every year. We must keep our commitments and provide the necessary resources for our athletes so that the legacy of the Games benefits everyone.”

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In June, the government came under further attack when it announced changes to the Pass Sport scheme, established in 2021 to help children from low-income families join sports clubs.

Nearly 1.7 million youngsters between six and 17 were benefitting from the €50 payment when Sports Minister Marie Barsacq outlined the amendments. But many will now find themselves ineligible.

Under the new system, which is set to start in September, the scheme will offer €70 to young people aged 14 to 17 whose families already receive the means tested ARS back-to-school allowance.

Children and teenagers between six and 19 with disabilities, whose guardians get the AEEH disabled child education allowance will also be able eligible for the €70, as will young people aged 16 to 30 who receive the AAH disabled adult allowance.

Students under the age of 28 who receive CROUS scholarships and bursaries will also be allowed to claim the cash.

“At the age of 14, nearly one in five secondary school students does not participate in regular sports activities, mainly due to cost constraints,” said Barsacq. “Pass Sport is an essential tool for overcoming this obstacle. I encourage young people and parents to take advantage of it to discover or rediscover a sport of their choice.”

Backlash

However, bosses at the French Football Federation have questioned the move, intended to save around €40 million.

Last year, 375,000 of its nearly 1 million members under the age of 14 joined clubs with the help of the money from the Pass Sport.

“We hope that solutions can be found to maintain this valuable aid for many families,” said the FFF. “There is an educational and social function to sport, which must be able to welcome as many children as possible, without discrimination, particularly financial discrimination.”

In an open letter to Macron and Bayrou, the 73 members of the Association of Mayors of Towns and Suburbs of France said: “The Pass Sport has put an end to financial discrimination in access to sport. It has led to a boom in sports enrolments among young girls. In large families, it has meant that we no longer have to prioritise sport for one child over another.

“By abolishing it for 6-13 year-olds, we are creating a sporting divide.”

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Marie-Amélie Le Fur, who respectively head the CNOSF and the CPSF, have also hit out at the changes to the scheme.

“It is a harmful decision that will deprive thousands of children of access to sports, which are known to improve physical and mental wellbeing, as well as cognitive and academic performance,” Oudéa-Castéra, who was Sports Minister during the Olympics before taking over at the CNOSF from David Lappartient in June, wrote in a message on LinkedIn.

She added that sport had already made too many sacrifices.

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“We must reverse this decision, which will deprive many children of access to sport and put many sports clubs in difficulty,” said François Piquemal, MP for Toulouse from the far-left France Unbowed party.

‘It’s an incomprehensible move,” he added, “but one that’s common in the world in which the president lives. As soon as there is a rare good idea that starts to get traction, back-pedalling is the order of the day when commitments cannot be honoured. However, these decisions have major consequences.”

Ronald Duart, president of a BMX club in Yvelines, west of Paris, said: “Before, three-quarters of our members in that age group of six to 13 used the Pass Sport.

“This is the first year that people have started asking us if they can pay in three or four instalments,” Duart added. “It feels that something like this is really going in the opposite direction of supporting sports participation.”

As France’s sports budget faces cuts, are Olympic promises being broken?

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