While in less than eight months, France will be at the center of the Olympic planet, the state of the gymnasiums and stadiums frequented by pupils and students raises questions. In three years, 500 million euros in subsidies have been released. But for the schoolchildren, students and teachers that the 8 p.m. Eye met, it is far from enough.
This Tuesday morning, there are a little more than thirty students in the STAPS sector (Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sports Activities) to train on the athletics track at the University of Limoges.
And during this hurdle race session, the obstacles are not always what you think.
Alexandre Maleyrie, rugby coach and member of the STAPS* collective, laments: “The track is completely damaged, there are holes and patches everywhere, the tartan is peeling off and the ground is as hard as bitumen.”
“The track, there are holes everywhere. It’s complicated in terms of safety, we’re afraid of getting hurt.”
Sarah Sompayrac, STAPS degree studentAt the Eye of 8 p.m.
The high jump track and the long jump track are also unusable. They are now banned for security reasons. This stadium, built in the 1970s, is now outdated, despite repairs. Deven dangerous, for some students: ”There, we had an athletics evaluation. The track, with the foam, is slippery; There are holes everywhere, it’s complicated in terms of safety, we fear getting hurt.” entrusts Sarah Sompayrac, STAPS degree student.
For three years, teachers have been warning about the deterioration of the place and calling for a “immediate intervention“. Exasperated, they joined a petition launched by the STAPS student collective, and two of them even resigned from their administrative positions. I
“All our installations are fifty years old. And there, on all sides, we are filling the holes;”
Isabelle Klock-Fontanille, president of the University of LimogesAt the Eye of 8 p.m.
Contacted, the president of the University of Limoges, Isabelle Klock-Fontanille says it is not directly responsible for the obsolescence of sports equipment: “We don’t own all of these facilities. Nor tenants. These buildings are assigned to us, we are the ones who have to take care of the maintenance. The state does not give us money for maintenance. All our facilities are fifty years old. And there, on all sides, we plug the holes.”
Aging sports facilities are not only found in Limoges. In 2022, a parliamentary mission took stock of 272,000 sports equipment in our country. Its rapporteur, the Renaissance deputy for Moselle, Belkhir Belhaddad, noted in particular: “pNearly 40% of the equipment dates from before 1985, 61% is over 25 years old and 70% has never benefited from major work.”
Infrastructures that are sometimes dilapidated, with inequalities depending on the departments
At the Eye of 8 p.m., we looked at the statistics. And sAccording to our calculations, with 12.6 infrastructures per 1000 students, Haut-Rhin or La Manche are within the national average. Lozère is at the top of the ranking. WhileAt the back of the class, we find Paris but also Seine-Saint-Denis: 4.2 facilities per 1000 students.
In Seine-Saint-Denis, the infrastructure is extremely busy. In Bagnolet, for example, the ceiling of the Briqueterie gymnasium has partly collapsed. “It is in complete disuse“, deplores Serge Reitchess, former PE teacher and member of Permanent collective for the defense and promotion of EPS (93). Created in 1970, the rugby field is used three times more than it should. The lawn did not survive. “It doesn’t move anyone that colleagues walk 20 minutes, look for sports facilities, do PE in the courtyard or in conditions like that.“, says Serge Reitchess, a few meters from an imposing puddle which obstructs the old athletics track of the complex.
Since 2015, the municipality of Bagnolet has been trying to finance the renovation of the premises. But it is impossible to cover the 4.5 million euros needed for the work alone. Tony Di Martinohe mayor (PS) of the town denounces the discrepancy with the Olympic ambition a few kilometers away: “There is something missing, we will also have to be able to benefit from the Olympic Games effect in our territories and not only regarding economic attractiveness, but also for the financing of our equipment.“
Renovations of school gymnasiums and municipal swimming pools, largely forgotten in Paris 2024?
So, as some elected officials deplore, are the renovations of school gymnasiums and municipal swimming pools the big forgotten ones of Paris 2024? For three years, however, the President of the Republic has launched two plans called “5000 lots”. In addition to existing subsidies, 500 million euros, including 150 million for the renovation or construction of swimming pools or sports grounds, have been released.
The Renaissance deputy for Saône-et-Loire, Benjamin Dirx, monitors these programs. For him, the effort is going in the right direction. Le sport, which to hear it, cannot always be a priority. “We must also do for our hospitals, for justice, for the gendarmeriehe says. You have to make choices carefully. The State cannot do everything, everywhere and right away.” Contacted, the Ministry of Sports said it was aware of the dilapidation of a “significant share of sports equipment” but assures that support for local authorities has been strengthened in recent years.
AMONG OUR SOURCES
What equipment for a sporting nation? Parliamentary mission on sports facilities and communities (Belkhir Belhaddad – March 2022)
Presentation of the “5000 sports fields” Plan, announced by the President of the Republic on October 14, 2021
A new plan entitled “5,000 sports fields – Generation 2024” to initiate the construction or renovation of 5,000 sports fields within or near educational establishments by 2026.
Emmanuel Macron promises 5,000 additional sports fields by the end of 2026
Sports governance in France: its strengths and challenges