At the start of the week, when the children were returning to school and the parents were heading to work, a surprise arose during this return to school: snow. A joy for the former, but a disaster for the runners who are used to frequenting the banks of the Seine in Paris in particular.
With the first snowfall on Monday afternoon, it was almost impossible to maintain your outdoor session. As a result, the sports halls were largely taken over in the evening and a large part of the day on Tuesday. And the trend is unlikely to reverse, knowing that a new snowy episode is expected this Wednesday, January 7 in the capital.
90% of carpets occupied
Monday evening, we had to jostle to find a treadmill in many gyms. This was still the case the next day during the lunch break at Neoness in La Motte-Picquet (Paris 15th), where almost 90% of the treadmills were occupied.
“January is the second most important month of the year, after September,” they say at reception. People exercise in January, after parties and resolutions. And there, with the snow and the cold, there are a lot more people. »
An observation that a member in her forties confirms: “I usually come here at lunchtime, because I work right next door. It’s often crowded, we’re not going to lie, but it’s true that there, perhaps with the new year and the cold, there are a little more people. Afterwards, that didn’t stop me from doing my session. If I hadn’t found a place on a mat, I would have done something else, like cycling or doing some strength training. »
A definite trend but which does not extend to all the sports halls in the capital. You just have to walk a few more meters to almost hear the opposite bell sound. As at Basic-Fit in La Motte-Picquet (Paris 15th arrondissement): “I don’t have the impression that there are more people than usual. It’s quite quiet,” says a member of the reception of a room, where half of the treadmills were free during the lunch break.
The gym coach noted this: “I’ve been working here for two years. Before, people arrived at the theaters at the beginning of January. But I’ve noticed that people now arrive more towards the end of the month, and especially between April and June. »
In the 12th arrondissement, the Magic Form Bercy saw no change compared to its usual attendance, just like that of Basic-Fit La Défense in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine).
“Running outdoors? It feels like an ice rink”
An employee of Keepcool in Champigny-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne), Rivaldo had to close at 7 p.m. on Monday while “our hours go from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.”. “Many of our members come by bus, but the buses were stopped with the snowfall,” he explains.
This is the case of Abdelrhafour, who trains on his treadmill. “I didn’t see Monday coming because of the snow so I’m making up for it today (mardi). I run outdoors three times on average. But there, it’s impossible, or at the risk of breaking a leg. With the snow and ice, it feels like an ice rink. »
While the phenomenon is especially visible in the capital, the storming of sports halls during the snowy episode can be explained by the increase in the number of runners (nearly 12.4 million across the whole of France, twice as many as in 2000).
“There are 4,900 fitness establishments throughout France,” explains Damien Jacquart, marketing and development manager at Union Sport & Cycle (USC). Paris has the largest hall in France (On Air in Paris Flanders, large 5,000 m2). Most runners combine their outdoor training with indoor training. This is the case for working on muscle strengthening but also when the weather conditions are complicated. »
“The month of January is the second busiest period of the year in terms of attendance”
On the exceptional attendance at the start of the week in Paris, he confirms the national trend: “We note an increase of 10.1% in the third quarter in 2025 compared to that of 2024. The month of January is also the second strongest period of the year in terms of attendance and creation of new subscriptions (after September-October). »
“Each establishment offers around ten treadmills (6-7 in establishments of less than 1,000 m2 and 10-15 in establishments of more than 1,000 m2), he continues. Mats are naturally the most used cardio equipment and even more so in winter. »
