“We want a real exchange”: young people from sensitive neighborhoods will play rugby against … ministers

“They saw this stadium build, but never went into it. There, they will enter it, and they will even play on the lawn. This Saturday morning, the president of Ovale Citoyen Jeff Puech will have the synthetic turf of Paris La Défense Arena, the usual home of Racing 92, tread on to young people from the Tarterêts city in Corbeil-Essonnes (Essonne) and Pablo-Picasso in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine). Not for a simple visit, but for a rugby match.

In front of them, the parliamentary XV, which brings together elected officials and collaborators of the National Assembly and the Senate, with in their midst for the occasion the Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari and his counterpart of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu. A third member of the government, Elisabeth Moreno, who is in charge of Equal Opportunities, will kick off the confrontation which will serve as the curtain raiser of the final stage of the Supersevens, a rugby sevens championship organized by the National Rugby League (LNR).

The second period played at Pablo-Picasso

“Everyone, from the parliamentary XV to the LNR, joined very quickly, rejoices the president of the association which advocates integration through rugby. What is also fundamental is that the second half will be played on the lawn of the city of Pablo-Picasso in Nanterre. We want ministers to realize that these neighborhoods can be violent, but also a breeding ground for great initiatives. And at the end of the match, we shuffle everyone. We want a real exchange between these two worlds. “

Ovale Citoyen supports the fieldwork provided by two local sports associations, the Spartans in Corbeil-Essonnes and the Pirates in Nanterre, led respectively by Khaled Maiza and Foued El Fekih. “It is an honor for us to bring our young people there to face these elected officials and the ministers,” rejoices the president of the Essonne club who will participate in the meeting. We use this sport to pull people from our neighborhood upwards, it gives a framework, it allows us to let off steam and it gives us the opportunity to launch actions around sport. “

“Show that rugby allows you to be considered and valued”

The club thus organized a food distribution in November 2020 during the second confinement and marauding to come and assist the homeless. Ovale Citoyen also raised private funds to help the Spartans and Pirates finance snacks for the neighborhood youth.

“They are the linchpins at the local level. We try to furnish furniture around their actions, insists Jeff Puech. I find it strong that we can bring together the parliamentary XV, the ministers and all these people. If it can show in these neighborhoods that rugby can be considered and valued socially, that’s great. “

Those concerned will then be able to prolong the pleasure during the Supersevens, in a 400-seat grandstand granted to Ovale Citoyen. And see the elite of the French VII running on their morning lawn.