Published
Video length: 13 min
D-6 Paralympic Games: Interview with Tony Estanguet and Marie-Amélie Le Fur
We are six days away from the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. On this occasion, we welcomed Tony Estanguet and Marie-Amélie Le Fur who came to discuss this ceremony as well as the start of the competition.
The show “To the Games, Citizens!” received the president of Paris 2024 and the president of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, Marie-Amélie Le Fur, on Thursday.
“The bar is high.” After the successful organization of the Olympic Games, the President of Paris 2024, Tony Estanguet, and the President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF), Marie-Amélie Le Fur, are fully focused on the Paralympic Games. Guests on “To the games, citizens!” on Thursday, August 22, the two leaders gave some clues about the opening ceremony that will be held in six days, “in one of the most beautiful places in Paris: the bottom of the Champs-Elysées”.
“It will be a breathtaking spectacle”assured Tony Estanguet. “It’s a ceremony that aims to challenge prejudices. The idea is to have a part with a lot of emotion, poetry and humor. But also strong messages around inclusion because in our country, disability remains the primary source of discrimination.”he recalled. The Place de la Concorde, where part of the festivities will take place, required adjustments after being configured for Olympic competition in recent weeks.
“This will be the first meeting of the French public with these athletes. It must also be a ceremony that claims something around the place of people with disabilities, the defense of their rights.”detailed Marie-Amélie Le Fur, triple Paralympic champion (100m, 400m, long jump).
The objective set by the French Committee is to bring back 20 gold medals, almost double the total from Tokyo (11 titles). Enough to normally place France in the top 8 nations. “It is very ambitious but resources have been made available. Our athletes have become more professional thanks to the State and partners. We are in the process of catching up on the delay we have incurred, Paris 2024 is just one step”estimated the head of the CPSF.