From September 6 to 15, the largest global Francophonie event will open in the heart of Nice! A clever mix of sport and culture, the Francophonie Games, celebrating their twentieth anniversary, will offer a fabulous free show to all fans of the genre. Youth, arts, and sport will be the watchwords for 10 days under the Nice sky!
However, this event is not only sporting or cultural but also a major manifestation of the Francophone community worldwide, as highlighted by the new prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Adolphe Colrat, yesterday at the official presentation of the games held at Villa Masséna: “These games are not only those of Nice but also of France. The Francophonie is not just a common language but values, dialogue between cultures, and above all, a modern institutional idea.”
These remarks resonated with those of the President of the National Committee of the Francophonie Games and Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi: “Nice will host the 7th Francophonie Games before passing the baton to the city of Abidjan, which will organize the 8th edition in 2017. It will be a true human adventure for Francophone youth.”
Finally, the Director General of the Organizing Committee, Bernard Maccario, recalled the main points of the event and the competitions that will undoubtedly attract the interest of many young school students and students from Nice who will be invited in large numbers.
So see you on September 7, when, alongside President of the Republic François Hollande and the Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie, no fewer than six heads of state (including Alassane Ouattara, President of Ivory Coast, which will be the host nation for the next edition of the Games), 35 heads of government and ministers, and of course, many civil, political, and sports personalities, will be present.
The flag bearers for the games will be Camille Muffat (for sport) and the young and talented conductor Lionel Bringuier (for culture).
