Yazid Laredj did not hide his pride this Thursday, May 19 on France Bleu Occitanie. Guest of the morning, the deputy mayor in charge of sports detailed the program of festivities, while USC is in the final phase of Pro D2. A dynamism of the city also carried by the rugby club, which is in the final of the championship on Sunday against Limoux. And then the Tour de France, which will stop again in the city in July.
Carcassonne deserves its final stages of Pro D2?
Yes, it is true, it is deserved. Really. They announced it at the start of the season and they managed to do it. So it’s wonderful for the city and it’s really a source of great pride.
The US Carcassonne has been working for years to reach this level…
It’s a long-term job with Christian Labit, at the helm for twelve years, who gradually managed to climb the steps and go back up. All of this finally happened after twelve years, these final stages and this barrage that we are going to experience tonight.
The match is in Nevers, but there is still a party in Carcassonne?
Right next to the Albert Domec stadium, the city’s mythical stadium. There are two giant screens with a huge meal organized by the partners and the association. And at the same time, there will be bandas. A real party tonight for the city. Because Nevers is almost six or seven hours by road from Carcassonne, and it’s a bit complicated for everyone, on weekdays, to get there. So we will try to bring this event to life as best as possible for all Carcassonnais, in collaboration with the club.
How many people do you think there will be in front of these screens tonight in Carcassonne?
We hope 1,000 to 2,000 people on site. Afterwards, there are plenty of small bars and places where there will be broadcasts of the matches. So I think the city tonight will live in the colors yellow and black.
Carcassonne is also the smallest budget of Pro D2. Pride, it comes from there also to arrive at these dams with this budget there?
It’s true, we’re little Thumb. It’s fun. In the French Football Cup, we are delighted because Petit Poucet manages to play against a first division team, and to beat it. We too are the little thumb of this Pro D2 and we hope to achieve a feat this evening against one of the biggest budgets of this Pro D2 championship and perhaps succeed in qualifying for this semi-final. So indeed, it is also a source of pride to have a small budget and to reach this level.
It’s not just rugby union in Carcassonne. There is also the rugby league club which is in the final of the French championship on Sunday against Limoux. Does rugby help you to promote the city, beyond the region?
Absolutely. It’s a real spotlight with these two teams who manage to be on the front of the stage. In a city, Carcassonne, traditionally associated with history and culture. And it’s true that there, with this sporting spotlight, we manage to bring other things and show that we have a dynamic and young city. And that is a very good thing for the future of our city.
In the city budget, what part does sport represent?
In 2022, the mayor has chosen sports investments, and we have 4 million euros out of 12 million this year which will be invested in sport. Both for the renovation of the stadium, but for all the structures around it as well as the renovation of our gymnasiums. It’s true that we have the active and sporting town label, and we have tried to develop it. Beyond the tourism we have, business or cultural, we also want to associate sports tourism with our city.
Do you think that tourists from the medieval city will also come to Carcassonne for rugby?
We hope. We have an airport, we are in the heart of Occitania, we are really well placed, we have good results at the sporting level so we also hope that it will bring this little extra which will allow us to change levels and climbing with sports cities as we know today.
You will also be spoiled by the Tour de France returning for the second consecutive year. The hotels are already full?
We have three days: July 17, 18 and 19 in Carcassonne. Arrival, rest day and stage departure. Indeed, all the hotels are full. The lodges are also full, and every year we manage to host this magnificent event. There is a real work that is done around with our tourist office and the hotel clubs, so that we manage to fill all that over the three days. For example, the Tour de France is 2,500 overnight stays just for the organization and the runners in the Tour, then there are also the tourists who come for July 14 with the fireworks. So we’re going to have a wonderful week.
I come back to rugby: next year, it’s the World Cup. Will you be a base camp for a national selection?
We do everything for it, we make the investments for them and we will have the results at the start of the school year in September. Maybe we will have a selection that will base its camp with us. We hope so. This is really one of the goals on which we have worked since the beginning of this mandate.