The French Ambassador for Sports at the French Foreign Ministry, Samuel Ducroquet, believes that the country has delivered one of the best Summer Games ever, as the Paris Paralympic Games near their climax with the closing ceremony set for Sunday at the Stade de France.
Ducroquet was speaking at his office in Paris yesterday when he hosted a Kenyan delegation led by Kenya’s Ambassador to France, Betty Cherwon and Sports Administrative Secretary Evans Achoki, who is also the head of the delegation for Team Kenya at the ongoing Paralympic Games.
“We are delighted to host the Kenyan delegation here today. In fact, we are slowly approaching the end as the Paralympics will be over in a few days, and so far, we are extremely proud to have delivered impeccable Olympic and Paralympic Games, because of the enthusiasm that we faced on and off the pitch. The fans have been outstanding, providing wonderful moments for the athletes, just as the athletes have provided wonderful moments for the fans,” Ducroquet expressed.
He added: “We managed to deliver Games that aligned with our values. The first value was audacity, which we showcased through a fantastic opening ceremony on the River Seine for the Olympics and at Place de La Concorde for the Paralympics. Our second value was sustainability—we wanted to deliver Games that were reasonable and environmentally friendly, and this was an extremely important priority for us. The third value was solidarity; we wanted the Games to be open to as many people as possible. We achieved gender equality at the Olympics, and while we’ve made progress on gender equality at the Paralympics, we know more work is needed. So far, it has been a fantastic experience.”
Ducroquet noted that the Games, which started over a month ago, provided France with an opportunity to reinforce its ties with its partners.
“We had a successful meeting today with Team Kenya to explore how we can collaborate in the long term. We discussed improving the relationship between France and Kenya through sports, and we see many opportunities in sports development—both grassroots sports and elite athletes. We look forward to working with the Kenyan team and Kenyan authorities,” noted Ducroquet, a career diplomat.
Kenya’s Sports Ministry Administrative Secretary Evans Achoki vowed they would apply the lessons learned from the organization of the Games to improve Kenya’s preparations to host the 2027 Confederation of African Football (Caf) Africa Cup of Nations.
“We had a very productive meeting with France’s Ambassador for Sports, Samuel Ducroquet. We were here to observe best practices in organizing the Olympics, and we’ve learned a lot from the way the Games were run. We will apply this knowledge back home, particularly in the three key areas we were keen to explore: event organization, infrastructure development, and sports facility management,” he stated.
He added: “We also discussed how France identifies talent, how that talent is nurtured, and how athletes can earn from their abilities.”
