a turning point for the representation of disability in France?
This Wednesday evening, the opening ceremony focused on the “de-heroization” of parathletes. The message was clear: parathletes are athletes like any other. And rightly so: people with disabilities represent 15% of the world’s population. In France, we are talking about 12 million people, including 9.6 million with an invisible disability. The representation offered by the Paralympic Games is very necessary! Aude Moulin Delalande, Sport and Paris 2024 Manager at the Association des paralysés de France (APF)-France Handicap, testifies to the hopes placed in these Games: “In 2018, the association supported the Paris 2024 bid, convinced that it would change the lives and place of people with disabilities in society.”
So, was the bet successful? While it is still too early to say, we can be hopeful: the Paralympic Games being broadcast in their entirety is a major first and promises to bring greater visibility to the disciplines represented. “I have been working in this field since 2008. When I talked about the Paralympic Games, the people around me did not know about them. We have made a lot of progress today,” notes the APF’s sports manager.
Putting inclusivity on the political agenda
The Paralympic Games offer associations a valuable opportunity to engage with political stakeholders who would otherwise have been inaccessible. However, Aude Moulin Delalande stresses that a real awareness of the public authorities is necessary: “The mission of Paris 2024 and the Organising Committee was just to organise the Games, nothing more!” And indeed, there is still much to do. According to the Ministry of Health, nearly 7 million people aged 15 and over living at home report being severely limited in their daily lives on a physical, sensory or cognitive level due to health problems.
We can then hope that efforts for greater inclusivity will continue beyond the Paralympic Games. Especially since certain accessibility initiatives, such as improvements to access in public transport, could benefit the entire population. “I like the pictograms in the Paris metro: for people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities it is easier to find their way, but for children or illiterate people too! Could we imagine keeping them for stations with emblematic places? They did it, why not make it permanent?” notes the APF’s sports manager.
