In the midst of the debate over the legacy of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the French Judo Federation (FFJ) presents itself as a textbook case. It registered 592.000 members in 2024-2025, compared to 530.000 the previous year. A record increase, boosted by the exploits of Teddy Riner, Clarisse Agbegnenou, Joan-Benjamin Gaba and their gang... but which risks running into the budgetary tightening imposed by the government. David Inquel, vice-president of the FFJ, takes stock with Francs Jeux.

592 members, is that a record for the French Judo Federation?

Yes, we had never reached this level. We are very happy and we believe there is still enormous potential for growth. After Tokyo, we implemented the 1000 dojos program: we created 500 dojos in priority neighborhoods in three years. We look for empty, unused spaces, we install tatami mats, a teacher, and we welcome the kids. We created infrastructure and we train 500 new teachers per year; we had everything in place to be able to welcome these new practitioners.

Have you noticed an influx in any categories more than others?

It's been done fairly evenly. We have 30% young judokas, and we're steadily expanding in this category. We're primarily a youth federation. It's gotten even stronger. We're going to try to keep them a little longer now.

This 11% increase is largely due to Paris 2024?

The Games were a tremendous catalyst for showing what sport could be used for. All this fraternity, this joy of living together, the sharing of emotions... Something exceptional emerged. We also had exceptional results with nine medals, that's never been seen before. And then this fabulous team day, with this incredible outcome against our Japanese friends, finishing with Teddy... We never imagined this scenario in our wildest dreams. Millions of viewers watched this final, it shows all the emotions we can experience when we step onto a judo mat.

Beyond the medals, which are regular for French judo, was there something more in the way judo was promoted or in the storytelling?

Judo has come forward all by itself. We have the first medal. (Shirine Boukli, in bronze, editor’s note). Our Teddy who lights the flame, who wins his individual tournament by being at a bluffing technical, tactical and psychological level, then who does it again as a team. We have been very regularly highlighted with all of this. Our judokas are also great champions. They have a lot of humility, in victory or in defeat.

One year later, how do you see the future?

On the positive side, I first want to highlight the enthusiasm for paras. There was a before and an after. A lot of boundaries have been eliminated between paras and judo. On the other hand, there are things we don't understand. The Pass'Sport has just been eliminated (refocused on 14-17 year olds, editor's note). More than 100.000 practitioners benefit from it in our country. I'm not sure that people won't re-register for judo because there is no Pass'Sport, but there are some, the most deprived, who will be affected by this decision. The 1000 dojo program is suspended while we still had 500 dojos to open in difficult neighborhoods. I understand that there are budgetary constraints, but let's look at what happened at the Games: we can all live together like that.

Many tools allow this, like culture and sport. It's a way to bring together all socio-professional categories. We saw a joy of living that reminded me of the tournaments in my small village, where everyone partied together, from the notary to the worker. Sport has this magic. A year later, the problems of integration, diversity, and gender diversity are amplified, and no one is saying that we should use this tool? No, we look the other way, we still consider sport as a hobby, even though it has much more power. And I'm not even talking about the impact on health. This momentum of the Games has not been sufficiently supported to encourage all these kids – and all these adults – to play sport. This is the direction we need to go in.

Do you expect a drop in the number of licensees given this budgetary context?

No, we expect an increase. We will find alternative solutions, economic compensation with other means of financing – partners, training systems, the development of other disciplines. We remain very ambitious. French judo is made up of 5.500 associations managed by thousands of volunteers. We will find ways to support young people; the clubs have never closed the door to a child.