Olympic Games: François Tchekemian on the Olympics: “If you’re not there, you’ll regret it”

The games are underway, the competition venues are full, the spectators are enthusiastic. What is the state of popular sport in Paris? Is it on hold at the moment?

No, no, of course a lot of Olympic sports facilities are occupied, but all the others are now open to everyone. We’re on holiday and, like every year, we have 8,000 children under 15 who can try out new sports under the guidance of experienced trainers. Tennis, swimming, athletics. Because of the Olympics, things are a little less possible this year than usual in the summer.

Hardly any new competition venues are being built at the Olympics. What’s left for Parisians after the Olympics?

Of course, first we have the La Chapelle Arena in the north, which is magical and fits perfectly because we didn’t have anything of this size for 7,000 or 8,000 spectators. The new club Paris Basketball will move there, but there are also two halls in the arena that smaller Parisian clubs will use. We also have five sports facilities that have been completely renovated, such as the 1924 Paul Valeyre Olympic swimming pool. Johnny Weissmüller swam there, Tarzan. A historic place. These five reconstructed sports facilities will be available to all Parisians after the Olympics.

Is Paris a city that makes it easy for its residents to do sports?

Well, Paris is a city of contrasts. And above all, it is densely populated; In terms of square meters per inhabitant, we are an extreme case. That’s why some sports facilities are open from 7 a.m. to midnight, simply so that everyone has the opportunity to train. We are trying to make the city greener, and sport is part of it: we close the banks of the Seine to cars on Sundays so that people can jog or skate there. Or just take a walk. We have launched the “Paris Sport Dimanche” campaign (Sport in Paris on Sunday): on Sundays, sports are practiced in public places from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., under the guidance of sports trainers from the French National Olympic Sports Committee and affiliated associations.

How many people do organized sports in Paris?

There are 250,000 people, only 35 percent of them are women. This is a task for us. We want to change that, urgently.

Have you been able to get Olympic tickets for some of the people in organized sports?

Yes, 4,500, we distributed them across the clubs. Basketball players go to basketball games, we send track and field athletes to track and field competitions. And of course we have a disproportionate number of footballers and rugby people in Paris, we gave them tickets to sports that suit them, badminton for example, you don’t need to know much about the rules.

Many Parisians were skeptical about the Olympics, and some even went on a trip to escape the games. But now everything is going pretty smoothly. Do you think anyone regrets not being in the city?

I’m actually quite sure of that, because I have friends who send me messages from vacation: “What a beautiful opening!” Or someone else: “I see it on TV, I see smiles on the faces of the Parisians, me Would love to be there!” So ​​yes, I know there is a lot of regret from those who wanted to run away from the games. Anyone who isn’t there will regret it.

A typical phenomenon: Before the Olympics, the locals have little interest in it, and then they enjoy it, despite all the hassle.

Yes, the Olympics have their own magic and I think the Paralympics will be the same.