The municipal elections were not played on this ground: sport, especially at the time of the coronavirus, was not the key subject of the last campaign. Nevertheless, in most of the big cities where elected environmentalists have triumphed, the new city councilors intend to draw a picture different from that of their predecessors. With more green touches, of course. But not only.
→ LONG FORMAT. From Bordeaux to Lyon, environmentalists to the test of power
The new deal begins with a redefinition of the balance between professional and amateur sport. “It is not a question of denying the importance of professional clubs, vectors of identity, social cohesion, celebration and attractiveness, emphasizes Julie Nublat-Faure, the new sports assistant to Mayor Grégory Doucet in Lyon. But they swallow a disproportionate share of subsidies, and I intend to gather everyone around the table to review the award criteria, focusing on diversity, training for young people, the inclusion of sportspeople with disabilities, concrete actions in terms of ecology. On all these points, we lack evaluations today. “
Rebalancing subsidies in favor of amateur sport
In Bordeaux, taken on June 28 by the ecologist Pierre Hurmic, the new assistant in charge of sports, Mathieu Hazouard, is on the same line: “In terms of subsidies still reigns vagueness or tradition. I therefore wish to set up a sports council responsible for carrying out an intervention report, for next year to establish new rules. “ Some predict future tensions, which Abdel Ghezali wants to guard against in Besançon. The socialist deputy relies on continuity, finding moreover the delegation he occupied in the outgoing municipal team which also included the new tenant of the town hall, the ecologist Anne Vignot. “Our high-level aid will remain at 1.6 million euros because our professional clubs need strong signs of support during this very difficult Covid-19 period, he assures. Pro sport and amateur sport feed on each other, the girls of the flagship handball team for example intervene in schools, neighborhoods, in the life of the city. “
Between taking distance and new partnerships, it’s a whole relationship that could be turned upside down. In Lyon, Julie Nublat-Faure intends to convince major clubs and top athletes to carry the ecological message. “They have a role to play in the ecological transition, and I hope to see them also participate in the discussions within the framework of the House of ecological mutations that we will install. How to do better sports in the city also means rethinking urban planning to facilitate practices, integrating global warming into this reflection, etc. “
Rediscover the inclusive values of sport
The green ambition is of course omnipresent. But for elected environmentalists, turning to the amateur world amounts to strengthening the social dimension of sport more generally. In Strasbourg, the new EELV mayor Jeanne Barseghian can count in this register on her sports deputy Owusu Tufuor. This community worker, originally from Ghana, wants to be inspired by his career. “I arrived in France at the age of 15, and without speaking a word of French, it is thanks to my football coach that I was able to integrate, he recounts. Sport as a social bond, a vector of citizenship, and even of access to employment, is what must be put forward. Sport must be inclusive again at all costs. »
→ READ. Municipal 2020: for environmentalists, Besançon is ripe for the harvest
In Besançon, Abdel Ghezali intends to provide working-class neighborhoods with educators trained in clubs. “They will be paid by the municipality, and not volunteers, he says. We must provide human and financial resources to help sports associations to promote diversified practices in disadvantaged areas. “ All the newly elected officials also point to a major infrastructure problem. “There is a real shortage of local facilities in Bordeaux, which either fall into disrepair or are totally lacking in certain districts, regrets Mathieu Hazouard, we must also return to basic things: renovate and build, obviously with ecological standards ”. Sport as a remedy for the drifts of difficult neighborhoods? Between traditional left politics and new ideas, green municipalities have their work cut out for them.
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