A Paris 2024 effect. Among others. Since the start of the Olympiad, the Olympic movement has had its eyes turned towards France. The phenomenon is usual. At 624 days from the opening, it should further increase in the months to come.
For the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), the stakes are high. How to make the most of it? What levers to activate? What events to target after the Paris 2024 Games? At the helm, the president of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB), Jean-Pierre Siutat, first vice-president of the CNOSF in charge of international strategy. He answered questions from FrancsJeux.
FrancsJeux : What is the CNOSF’s priority today in terms of international strategy?
Jean-Pierre Siutat : It is diverse. Cooperation has been established between the government, the business world and the French Olympic movement. It took the name French Sport Touch. It was launched last December. Everyone remains master of their own agenda, but with specific recommendations and a common desire to share everything that can be shared. For our part, at the CNOSF, we are working on two actions. The first is the circles of international influence (C2I), for which we target and raise awareness among people who can at any given moment provide a service to France abroad. The circles are concentric. In the first, we find for example Jean-Christophe Rolland (member of the IOC and president of the International Rowing Federation, editor's note), but also French people present in commissions of an international federation, the IOC or other structures . The network must be animated. The second action consists of training people who will play an international role, the HPI (High International Potentials). Through the “International Ambition” course, the CNOSF provides them with the main principles of international relations, then targets those who could play a leading role. We should be able to present the first concrete results of this strategy at the beginning of 2023.
Does the prospect of the Paris 2024 Games facilitate closer cooperation with other countries?
We have just signed a cooperation agreement with Canada. We enter into agreements with certain national Olympic committees. With, as a base, all the French national federations which may be interested in these countries. We are also seeking to mobilize everyone to see which events France could host after the Paris 2024 Games. We must choose them, then put in place a strategy to obtain them. After the Paris 2024 Games, we will certainly have to expect a reduction in public aid. But we will have to find how to be relevant to receive major events. It's a real subject.
France today has three presidents of international federations – Jean-Christophe Rolland in rowing, David Lappartient in cycling, Luc Tardif in ice hockey – and four members of the IOC – Guy Drut, Jean-Christophe Rolland, David Lappartient and Martin Fourcade. Is this proof that French sport has never been so influential?
A study was carried out by a Nordic country on the presence of different countries in international bodies, with a points system according to the level of presence. France is among the leading nations. I'm too new to this universe to know if any of this is the result of specific actions. But it is certain that we have quality people today. Luc Tardif is an example. He started from nothing, he campaigned for the presidency of the International Ice Hockey Federation in his own way, and he won even though he was not the favorite. France represents something. And we have quality people who embody a form of leadership. By targeting potential and training them, there is no reason not to continue on the same path.
Will Paris 2024 accelerate the phenomenon or on the contrary should we expect a downturn after the Games?
It is impossible to know today. Since the Games were awarded, I have repeated that Paris 2024 is both an opportunity and a threat. We must identify threats and opportunities, then ensure that the former do not materialize and that the latter materialize. But it is certain that the opportunities exist. At the CNOSF, we are in great demand on the subject of Paris 2024, for visits, agreements or the use of equipment.
Does France now have the ambition to organize, after the Paris 2024 Games, another major international multisport event?
The issue has been discussed and debated, but it has not yet been resolved. The Winter Games can be an opportunity. The World University Games as well. We also asked ourselves the question of whether it would be interesting to organize the Francophonie Games. The file for multisport events is open, nothing has been decided yet. But it will have to be useful for something, in terms of international influence or the export of the know-how of French companies.
