The Olympic Aquatic Center in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), June 7, 2023. BERTRAND GUAY / AFP
” Go further “ so that the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP) leave a real imprint on sports practice in Seine-Saint-Denis: this is the watchword of CoPER 93. This permanent collective for the defense and promotion of EPS and associative sport in the department, created in 2021, organized a citizens’ convention at the end of June bringing together three major players: cities with elected officials, national education – represented by physical education and sports teachers (EPS) – and sports associations.
“The idea is to agree on a text that will feed future legislative work. The goal is to move towards an ambitious plan for the development of sports practice in France and in particular in Seine-Saint-Denis, with in particular the question of public sports facilities.explains Clément Rémond, one of the organizers.
Co-president of the FSGT 93 (Federation of sports and gymnasiums of work) – which brings together 180 clubs in the department, i.e. 13,000 members practicing around fifty different sports disciplines –, he draws up an alarming observation. “Young and dynamic”Seine-Saint-Denis remains the least well endowed territory in France in terms of sports infrastructure, with an average of 16.2 facilities per 10,000 inhabitants, compared to 25 in Ile-de-France and 49.6 at national.
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Consequence, for sports associations: crowded practitioners, a lack of time slots, in particular to develop female and inclusive practice, not to mention the impossibility of welcoming new members. Some climbing clubs at Le Bourget (Seine-Saint-Denis) even have waiting lists in June.
The school, which should be a point of access to the practice of sport, encounters the same difficulties, with sometimes insane travel times. “Sports facilities are our classrooms. Imagine a maths teacher who would walk twenty minutes to reach his class.image Hugo Pontais, PE teacher at the Marcelin-Berthelot high school in Pantin.
Repair small flaws
The department has launched several initiatives to try to catch up, including the swimming pools 2 plan and the modernization of the Marville sports park. It also took advantage of the “5,000 sports grounds” plan of the National Sports Agency (ANS), which, in 2022, supported 27 local equipment projects in Seine-Saint-Denis, to reduce inequalities in employment. access to sports practice.
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