Women’s sport and Paralympic Games added to list of ‘major importance’ events

The main women’s sports competitions and the Paralympics are now in the same category as the Olympic Games or the World Cup final. A decree published in the Official Journal this Saturday, July 6, formalized the registration of these sporting events as “of major importance“This decision will make it mandatory to broadcast these events on free television, in the same way as other disciplines, already included on this list by decree.

The new version of this list, produced by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Sports, now includes – among other things – the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, the matches of the French women’s football team registered on the FIFA calendar, the semi-finals and final of the Women’s Football World Cup, the Six Nations matches of the French women’s rugby team, the semi-finals and final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the women’s Tour de France cycling race.

No pay channel will now be able to have the exclusivity of broadcasting these competitions, and national free channels will necessarily have the possibility of obtaining the retransmission rights. Arcom, the audiovisual regulatory body, explains that these additions will serve “to significantly improve the visibility of women’s sport, parasport and disciplines that are under-exposed in audiovisual media.“

21 events previously had this “privileged” broadcast status, including the Olympic Games, the opening match, semi-finals and final of the Football World Cup, the semi-finals and final of the Euro football championship, the men’s cycling Tour de France, the Six Nations tournament in rugby, and the Formula 1 French Grand Prix when it is on the calendar for the discipline.

• The Summer and Winter Paralympic Games
• The matches of the French women’s football team registered in the calendar of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)
• The semi-finals and final of the Women’s World Cup
• The semi-finals and final of the European Women’s Football Championship
• The Women’s Champions League Final
• The final of the Europa League Conference of the European Union of Association Football (UEFA) when a sports group registered in one of the French championships participates
• The final of the French Women’s Football Cup
• The matches of the French women’s and men’s rugby union teams, registered in the World Rugby calendar
• The matches of the French team in the women’s Six Nations rugby tournament
• The semi-finals and final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup
• The final of the French women’s rugby union championship
• The semi-finals of the men’s and women’s singles of the Roland-Garros tennis tournament in the event of the participation of a French sportsman or sportswoman
• The men’s and women’s singles finals of Grand Slam tennis tournaments other than Roland-Garros in the event of participation of a French sportsman or sportswoman
• The Women’s Tour de France Cycling Championship
• The women’s cycling competition “Paris-Roubaix”
• The semi-finals of the European women’s and men’s basketball championships when the French team participates
• The semi-finals of the women’s and men’s basketball world championships when the French team participates
• The semi-finals of the European women’s and men’s handball championships when the French team participates
• The semi-finals of the women’s and men’s handball world championships when the French team participates
• The finals and semi-finals of the European women’s and men’s volleyball championships when the French team participates
• The finals and semi-finals of the women’s and men’s volleyball world championships when the French team participates
• The Alpine Ski World Championships when the competition takes place in France