Paris (AFP)

The sport will not be the priority of the government in case of arbitration to render on the plan of deconfinement in preparation, warned Wednesday the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu, warning that a number of competitions could be held "behind closed doors" or "with very strict restrictions "for spectators.

"What is certain is that sport will not be a priority in our society. It is not a priority today in the decisions which are taken by the government", warned in the program Le Club on Eurosport , Roxana Maracineanu.

"If at the exit (confinement, note), there are not enough masks, if as today the tests remain reserved for people who have symptoms and that is the condition enacted by athletes - who will have the right of withdrawal - it will not happen, "said the minister in the midst of a debate on the dates for the resumption of the football and rugby championships.

"By May 11, maybe it will evolve," she hoped when Sylvain Kastendeuch, the president of the French national players' union (UNFP), had called on Monday to "give up" the Ligue 1 season. in progress due to health guarantees.

"Obviously a resumption in mid-June is the optimum scenario but there are others, reminded the minister. That of a resumption perhaps in September of the championships, even of a white season this year to be able resume at best next season. "

In all cases, the events brought to resume will be "behind closed doors or in degraded mode with very strict restrictions on the level of spectators present", said the minister, estimating that the ban on gatherings with the public, currently announced until mid-July, "will last a minimum until September" or "until further notice, until we find a vaccine".

As for the Tour de France and Roland-Garros, postponed in September due to the pandemic, they can actually take place on these new dates "in the optimum scenario that we imagine", specifies Roxana Maracineanu.

While leaving the door open to a cancellation: "If this is not possible, it will not be the end of the world. It will undoubtedly be the end of many things which were supported by the income from these tournaments and the Tour de France. We’re going to have to reinvent ourselves if a year is missed

© 2020 AFP