First victory and first message. The gold medal won by Mandy François-Elie in the 200m T37 final of the World Para Athletics Championships, Monday July 22 in Lyon, earned the young Frenchwoman an elegant press release from the Elysée. “She brings the first gold medal for the French delegation from the IPC world championships in Lyon 2013,” wrote François Hollande. After her title as Paralympic 100m champion in London, she confirms that she is now one of the great sprinters in the discipline. »
Beautiful tribute. And a hell of a performance. In Lyon, the disabled sports movement has not only attracted the President of the Republic. Above all, he succeeded in his media coup. No less than 400 journalists are accredited for the IPC Athletics World Championships, organized from July 19 to 28 at the Stade du Rhône. Around twenty television channels broadcast the images.
Among them, France 4, one of the channels of the France Télévisions group. Two hours of live broadcast daily, between 18 and 20 p.m. In the comments, a unique duo, composed of Patrick Montel, the voice of athletics in public service, and Muriel Hurtis, the former European 200m champion. Normal ? You could believe it. But, information obtained, the presence of France Télévisions cameras at the edge of the track was far from certain.
Daniel Bilalian, the sports boss of France Télévisions, initially pouted at the prospect of offering the event a media window. Certainly, the London Paralympic Games were a real success last year in terms of ratings, with an average of 500 viewers on France 000. But the public service believed less in the success of the world championships located just after the Tour de France.
To force the group's door, Gérard Masson, the boss of the French Paralympic movement, knew how to play finely. First initiative: free rights. The IPC World Championships in Lyon cost the channels nothing, other than logistical costs (studio, team travel, etc.), estimated at €100 for France 000. Second idea: modify the format and times of the competitions in order to make them compatible with the demands of the small screen. Daniel Bilalian concedes: “Disabled sport turns out to be quite complicated, but the organizers took our comments into account and simplified the program. »
Above all, Gérard Masson played his best card to the fullest: Valérie Fourneyron. Very attached to the disabled sports cause, the French Minister of Sports threw all her weight into obtaining from Rémy Pfimlin, the president of France Télévisions, a slot in the schedule of one of her channels for the Lyon event. Gérard Masson explained it on a daily basis The Latest News from Alsace : “Every time we sent a letter to France Télévisions, we copied the ministry. »
It remained to fill the stadium. Never easy, especially in the heart of summer. Sunday July 21, 3500 spectators crowded into the stands, despite the stifling heat. We are a long way from the London Paralympic Games, where athletics often had full stadiums, even late in the morning. But the performance remains very respectable.
