"The academy will be unique, open to everyone (...) It's important to take care of the elite, the 5%, but it's also important to take care of the remaining 95%", he declared Tuesday in front of the press at the Town hall of Saint-Ouen, in the North-West of the capital.

It will be located on the Ile-des-Vannes, a vast area which includes a sports complex.

Dilapidated, it must be renovated by Solideo, in charge of the Olympic works, in order to serve as a training place before the Games.

The equipment will then be used for other cultural and sporting purposes, including this school built on the model of a first "Tony Parker Academy" launched in Lyon in 2019.

Students keen on sport, about 200 per class, will benefit from support to try to break into their discipline, while discovering other professions through courses, internships and partnerships.

Among the disciplines selected, the list of which has not yet been finalized: 3X3 basketball, paddle or even hip-hop.

To access it, "the only valid criterion is performance. From the moment you are good, you return, there will be no brake on the financial or budgetary aspect", promises Karim Bouamrane, who assures think about different aid mechanisms.

This "place of democratization of sporting, educational, cultural excellence" will train "citizens" and "will give hope for a whole generation to be truly architects of their own lives", estimated the elected official.

The cost of the project, validated by the city council, is estimated "between 80 and 100 million euros", he said.

Karim Bouamrane (PS) in Paris, August 27, 2017 PATRICK KOVARIK AFP / Archives

"It's very important for me to give back to my country and help the next generation," said Tony Parker.

Three years after the end of his professional career, the best French basketball player in history, 39, has successfully converted by taking the presidency of Asvel, the basketball club of Lyon-Villeurbanne of which he is president, or by launching "Infinity Nine Horses", a stable of gallopers whose name refers to the number 9 of his San Antonio Spurs jersey from 2001 to 2018.

© 2022 AFP