six months before the Games, the promotion of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra hailed by former Ministers of Sports

Promoted on Thursday to National Education, Amélie Oudéa Castéra is now at the head of a large ministry also encompassing Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It was a nomination that caused quite a stir. Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, already at the head of the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, had the Ministry of National Education (EN) added to her portfolio on Thursday January 11. A promotion which did not convince the Snes-FSU teachers’ union which deplored an act “inconsistent and quite disrespectful for National Education” with the risk of having “a part-time minister”.

However, former sports ministers welcome this news. “The workload is certainly very heavy, but in terms of work capacity and authority, the minister is able to carry it out,” assures Jean-François Lamour, Minister of Sports between 2002 and 2004, then Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Life between 2004 and 2007. For Thierry Braillard, Secretary of State for Sports between 2014 and 2017, the charge of work should be reduced in view of Paris 2024 thanks to “the appointment of a Minister for Sports, and in this case, we will be well armed ‘governmentally’ to face the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

A large team to lead the Games

According to Jean-François Lamour, this promotion is far from trivial. “Since joining the government [en mai 2022], we did not feel her wavering, even though she had to deal with some sensitive subjects: security problems at the Stade de France, dysfunctions at the federal level, incidents of sexual violence within the federations. Besides, if she is in National Education, it is not for nothing.” he insists.

“Amélie Oudéa-Castéra who, initially, was in the last protocol rank, finds herself in fourth place in the government. This is a sign that she has demonstrated real authority by taking the reins of the Ministry of Sports and games.”

Jean-François Lamour, former Minister of Sports

at franceinfo: sport

The challenge for Amélie Oudéa Castera will be not to abandon one of the three parts of her expanded ministry. But Jean-François Lamour tempers. “In the organization of the Olympic Games, we are today in an operational phase and no longer a design one. There are no longer many decisions to make. There are still one or two somewhat sensitive subjects such as transport and security, but above all it will be the Ministry of the Interior, IDF Mobilités and the two historic operators, RATP and SNCF, who will be in charge.”

“It is an event that is prepared well in advance and there is a whole structure, the Cojop, which assists the organization. It will undoubtedly be surrounded by secretaries of state or delegated ministers to accomplish all these missions which are indeed considerable“, confirms Frédérique Bredin, Minister of Youth and Sports between 1991 and 1993, notably during the Albertville Winter Games in 1992. The only Minister of Sports to have been in charge of the organization of the Olympic Games before Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Frédérique Bredin recalls that this mission “requires very strong concentration and enormous resources. It also requires a presence on the ground, even if the Olympics will not last long.” The National Sports Agency (ANS), created in 2019, is also there to ensure the coherence of territorial sports projects and those of the federations, as is the interministerial delegate to the Games, Michel Cadot, in office since 2020.

An “incredible opportunity”

For each of the former ministers interviewed, the bringing together of the two ministries into one is a “incredible opportunity. It is still the first time that a Minister of Sports has become Minister of National Education in this sense and not the other way around. Thus, we can hope that sport really finally finds its place in the school“, underlines Jean-François Lamour.

“It’s a logical continuation, supports Roxana Maracineanu, Minister of Sports between 2018 and 2020, then Deputy Minister responsible for Sports between 2020 and 2022. Schemes had already been initiated with the bringing together of sports clubs at school. We have also included sporting fundamentals in the education code with ‘knowing how to swim and roll’. recalls the former minister who had “proposed in 2020 to carry out this merger”. Moreover, since 2020, agents of the two ministries have been working together after the reform of the territorial organization (OTE), initiated by Roxana Maracineanu, in order to promote cooperation.

“Showing that the Ministry of Sports is a fundamental movement in society, which concerns all amateur athletes, is very important. The fact that it is the Minister of Sports who is at the same time in charge of National Education and in charge of the Olympic Games gives hope for something that really concerns everyone”, insists Frédérique Bredin.

Legacy in focus

This rapprochement is also viewed favorably in terms of inheritance. “I have always considered that the best legacy for the Olympics was to strengthen sport in schools and to have access to sport, which is a public health issue,” continues Roxana Maracineanu. “Politically, this is perhaps the exceptional moment to create bridges between school sport and federal sport, because in France we have these two organizations which, sometimes, look at each other like a dog, notes Thierry Braillard. Organizing the Olympics is not just about organizing the competition itself. Above all, it’s about promoting sport and seeing more French people practice it.”

However, behind this displayed joy, Jean-François Lamour warns: “There is an imbalance between the two ministries. The minister will have to be extremely vigilant to ensure that sport remains one of her priorities.” Identical warning from Roxana Maracineanu. “We must ensure that the Ministry of Sports retains its sovereign missions, which only the State can guarantee, such as the fight against sexual violence. I am very attentive to this. This reorganization must not minimize the role of the Ministry of Sports”, she decides. Because the legacy of the Games will also be observed through a strong ministry at the end of the event, “which does not mean that it is less strong because National Education has joined it, and conversely, EN is not neglected because it is with sport, would like to clarify the former swimmer. We must see the positive aspect, which is the development of children, who will have everything to gain.”