French sports have taken on a new dimension. And each of us, as enthusiasts, is part of it. We were supporters yesterday, and today we are actors. Paris 2024 was not just a popular success or a delightful interlude with over 12 million tickets sold. The capital will be a showcase to the world, echoing the Mediterranean’s side with a sport that builds valuable and ambitious bridges. Let’s revisit the SportMed Summit of last April 29th. Inspiring and impactful.
The Olympics and Paralympics have established a new reality: sports have become a strategic lever for the economy, inclusion, territorial attractiveness, and international influence.
This vision was precisely the theme of the SportMed Summit held in Marseille at the end of April. A symbolic city. A cosmopolitan city turned towards the Mediterranean, Africa, and the future. Here, sports are not just seen as competition but as an ecosystem, a diplomacy, an industry capable of transforming territories.
In his opening speech, Francois Singer set the course with conviction: to create bridges between cultures, generations, continents, Europe and Africa, economic ambitions, and the human values of sports.
“The real legacy lies elsewhere: in the image of a nation capable of uniting.”
In this city open to the Mediterranean, exchanges highlighted a fact: major sporting events are no longer just temporary excursions but accelerators of transformation. Today, the sports sector in France generates nearly 80.4 billion euros in revenue, with 147,000 companies and over 450,000 jobs. The sector now represents 2.7% of the national GDP according to figures published by the Directorate General of Enterprises (DGE).
And the impact of Paris 2024 goes beyond stadiums. The Games generated over 7.1 billion euros in economic benefits in Ile-de-France between 2017 and 2024, with more than 11 million visitors and nearly 5 billion viewers worldwide. The Bank of France estimates that the Games contributed 0.25 points to French GDP growth in the third quarter of 2024 through broadcasting rights, tourism, and ticketing.
But reducing this dynamic to a mere financial perspective would be a mistake. This was the focus of the recent Marseille summit: discussing the impact of sports – its strength, power, and resilience. Because the real legacy lies in the image of a nation capable of uniting, adapting, transforming, and inspiring.
“The future Winter Games must not only be spectacular but also responsible, modest, inclusive, and rooted in their territories.”
To grow and learn together. In a France that rediscovered the spirit of collectivism. In millions of young people who saw champions they could relate to. In the rise of visibility of Paralympism. In regions that realized sports could be a driver of economic, tourist, and social development, as well as an endless source of human and civic values.
The first round table discussion on Alpes 2030 perfectly embodied this ambition. With the participation of Elie Patrigeon, Director of Heritage, Impact, and Sustainability of the COJOP des Alpes Francaises 2030.
The rise of Morocco perfectly illustrates the role of sports as a tool for economic and geopolitical cooperation in the Mediterranean.
The SportMed Summit confirmed that France has a unique card to play: being able to connect Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa around a modern and inclusive vision of sports. And this momentum is only just beginning, with a shared vision and ambition turning into action.
