French sport still relies on the now Prime Minister Jean Castex

Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow

Appointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron to replace Edouard Philippe, Jean Castex has left very good impressions for the past three years in the upper echelons of French sport. The ex-“Mister JO” 2024, who was also the head of the National Sports Agency, seduced in his functions. And those who have rubbed shoulders with him hope that sport will always have an important place in his government.

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Jean Castex has changed his costume again. Appointed at the beginning of April to the Ministry of Health to organize the deconfinement of a France hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Gersois had resumed, as soon as his mission ended, his role as interministerial delegate at the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Dijop) in early June. An ephemeral return because he is now Prime Minister . It is him that Emmanuel Macron chose, Friday, July 3, to succeed Edouard Philippe.

► Read also:  "A new stage in the quinquennium is opening" with Jean Castex

A “ facilitator ” was unanimous

A man from the right, the new head of government has been working behind the scenes of French sport for almost three years. It is he that the President of the Republic had already designated, in mid-September 2017, for the post of Dijop, in charge of coordinating the ministries for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 . A role which earned him the nickname "Mister JO". It is also him that the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, had appointed president of the new National Sports Agency (ANS) on April 24, 2019.

In these two roles, Jean Castex succeeded in an unclear exercise: to achieve unanimity, beyond political divisions. “  I am totally rave about it. He's the perfect guy. Never a twisted blow. He says things and when he says yes, he is fully committed. And in addition, he is very friendly. Like him, I have rarely come across them in my career,  "assured early June Stéphane Troussel, the socialist president of Seine-Saint-Denis, a key department in the Paris 2024 plan.

I warmly congratulate Jean Castex on his appointment as Prime Minister and thank him for his unwavering commitment to our side to make the # Paris2024 Games a success. All my best wishes for success in his new role.

Joined by RFI, Frédéric Sanaur goes in the same direction. The director general of the ANS describes "  a man of results, method, listening and decision  " with whom it is "  comfortable and very pleasant to work on a daily basis  ". “  He is a real facilitator on the most strategic subjects. (…) Sport is perhaps less divisive than other societal themes. However, we have really managed to find political balances. The personality and pugnacity of Jean Castex in these works were decisive,  ”he adds.

Tony Estanguet, president of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games, praised the “ unfailing commitment  ” of the man with whom he worked for just under three years on Twitter  . “  He didn't necessarily follow the Olympics but listened a lot. I appreciated that he knew the administration well. It was the entry point for Paris 2024 with the sports, education, security and transport sectors,  ”said the triple Olympic canoe champion in the daily L'Équipe .

The most important sport under his leadership?

A rugby fan, like many French people in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Jean Castex is heading for other challenges today. The efficiency he has shown in particular in deconfinement, with Paris 2024 and at the head of the ANS is expected in the government he must lead, with in mind the economic recovery of a society put bad as never before by the health crisis. Sport, however, should not be forgotten.

The @ Agence_du_Sport would like to warmly congratulate @JeanCASTEX, our President who is appointed Prime Minister of France. We wish him an excellent continuation at Matignon. pic.twitter.com/DdzqIqnJwe

Admittedly, Paris 2024 and the ANS must continue their journey without it. But the presence of the enarch in the post of Prime Minister incites optimism. “  He shares the ambition to make France a sporting nation. This suggests that sport will have its place in the concerns of the future government,  "predicts Denis Masseglia, president of the National Olympic and Sports Committee, in the columns of L'Équipe . Frédéric Sanaur tells us that this promotion can also be seen as "  a real opportunity to have a Prime Minister who knows sport, the players in sport, who has experienced the problems of sport and has often solved them  ".

"  It is rather a chance. Many players in sport see his appointment as a real opportunity to, perhaps, succeed in positioning sport in our society in a much stronger way. Jean Castex knows how to stay close to the actors with whom he works and has worked,  "insists the director of the ANS, who may have a new president after the general assembly scheduled for September 16, 2020.

Tony Estanguet, for his part, told L'Équipe that he hoped that the next interdepartmental delegate to the Olympic and Paralympic Games will have the same ability as Jean Castex to "  align the planets  ". An even more essential function with the current crisis and the need to save money on Paris 2024 . Jean Castex will not be there to do it in person, but the subject will undoubtedly be in the files of the new Prime Minister and his collaborators.

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• Sports
• French politics
• Jean Castex
• OJ 2024

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Analysis

With Jean Castex, Emmanuel Macron does not change course