Director General of the 2013 Francophonie Games in Nice (September 6 to 15)
Frédéric Jugnet
“Make these Games a popular success”
FrancsJeux : Which of the ongoing files is the one that occupies you the most today as Director General of the 2023 Francophonie Games?
Frédéric Jugnet: Promotion of the event. Unlike a world championship, for example, the Games of La Francophonie cannot count on an already acquired audience. Their content may seem less attractive. We therefore have a lot of work to do to reach and attract all levels of the Nice population. Half of our communication effort, particularly on the financial level, is directed towards this target. We must play on something other than the sporting reputation of the event to convince the public to come and discover these Games: French-speaking values, cross-breeding, the meeting of cultures... The greatest difficulty of this event is to make it a popular success . In the past, some editions have been a failure, particularly in France. But Madagascar achieved it in 1997. We want to follow this example.
No less than 52 countries are expected in Nice for the 2013 edition. Do they all play the game the same way?
No. The most involved, and above all the most motivated, are those where the French language has been the subject of a past struggle and a fight not to disappear. I am thinking of Canada, of course, but also of certain African countries. The delegations present in Nice will reflect a great disparity, in number of athletes and in level of performance. Some will send around ten people, others will reach 300 selected.
In France, the host country, have the federations concerned (athletics, cycling, football, judo, wrestling, table tennis, basketball and disabled sports) made it a priority on their calendar?
They will play the game. Their desire to go there is no doubt. They must be present and they know it. But they will have to slalom between the constraints of sporting calendars to compose their team. Football, for example, has told us of its intention to use the competition as a laboratory to test young players. In athletics, Christophe Lemaitre should be present. For many, the event will be an opportunity to launch their hopes into the deep end. In the past, Marie-José Pérec and David Douillet cut their teeth there.
