Paris (AFP)

The National Assembly voted Friday the draft budget sports, youth and community life for 2020, up more than 20%, a figure challenged by oppositions who see the "display".

MEPs adopted this budget at first reading, amounting to EUR 1.23 billion in payment appropriations (+ 24%) and EUR 1.42 billion in commitment authorizations (+ 21%).

Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu touted a "strong act" in the 9.8 percent increase in her ministry's budget alone. However, this rise is mainly due to the envelope for the construction sites of the Olympic Games in 2024, with 129 million euros to the dedicated public institution.

"The Ministry and the Agency (National Sports) will have the means to their ambitions," said the minister, while several opposition MPs have expressed doubts about the achievement of goals, especially that of 3 million additional practitioners by 2024.

They also recalled the crisis on the fate of sports technical advisers (CTS), which "bogged down and has lasted too long" according to Régis Juanico (PS app).

"Sport is not considered a priority," said Marie-George Buffet, former PCF minister for this area, Alain Ramadier (LR) also referring to the "lack of clear course" and noted as others that "On a like-for-like basis, this budget hardly changes".

With regard to youth and community life, several speakers considered the appropriations (663 million euros, + 8.4%) insufficient, but amendments including LREM to increase support for associations were rejected.

Oppositions have mainly pointed to a deployment of the national universal service (SNU, 30 million euros for 2020) "to the detriment of civic service".

Created in 2010 for missions of general interest, civic service, open to 16-25 years, is not mandatory. The SNU, Emmanuel Macron's promise, will have to be completed by all young people.

In the Chamber, the Secretary of State for Youth, Gabriel Attal, affirmed that this universal national service will become "an important rite of passage" and that the missions will be of "quality" and will not replace jobs fixed.

While Sabine Rubin (LFI) criticized the "martial" side of the SNU with "pumps as a punishment" and "incidents" as during "the presentation of Pétain as the winner of Verdun", Mr. Attal pinned " outrages and caricatures ". Regarding Marshal Pétain, it comes from a "false video that has circulated including accounts on social networks that come from the far right," he said.

© 2019 AFP