Sport in France

The most-watched sports in France is football. Other popular sports include handball, basketball, rugby union, cycling, sailing and tennis.

The national stadium is the Stade de France.

Football

:See also football in France

Motorsport

France has various domestic racing series, none of which are of major international importance. However, it holds an annual Ice Racing Championship at the end of each year, called the Andros Trophy. High profile past champions include ex Formula 1 driver Alain Prost and current World Touring Car Championship driver, and 2003 British Touring Car Championship Champion Yvan Muller.

France has held a round of the Formula 1 Championship at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (Magny-Cours) since 1991, but a round of Formula 1 at different tracks since 1950. There have been several high profile French Formula 1 drivers, but only one world champion - Alain Prost.

Handball

There are over 300,000 licensed handball players in France, and the handball national team is one of the most watched and supported along with the football and the rugby union ones.

Basketball

Basketball is also a popular team sport with 447,942 licensed players (2005 statistics). The sport is governed by Fédération Française de Basket-Ball (FFBB; French Basketball Federation), which operates professional leagues for both men and women. The men's Ligue Nationale de Basketball has two levels, Pro A and Pro B. Pro A sends nine teams into continent-wide club competitions each season—two to the top-level Euroleague, five to the second-level Eurocup, and two to the third-level EuroChallenge. The women's Ligue Féminine de Basketball operates as a single league of 14 teams. In 2008, the league will send four teams to EuroLeague Women, the women's equivalent of the Euroleague.

As of the 2007-08 NBA season, 12 French citizens have played in the NBA in the USA and Canada. Nine are currently playing, most notably San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker, with three NBA titles to his credit; Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw; and Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah, also notable for his college career at the University of Florida in which he starred on a team that won two NCAA titles with the same starting lineup.

Volleyball

Volleyball is also a popular team sport with more than 100,000 licensed players (2005 statistics).

Rugby union

:See also Rugby union in France

Rugby union was first introduced in the early 1870s by British residents. While football is more popular nationally, rugby union is predominant around Toulouse, the French Basque country, and Languedoc. Elite French clubs participate in the domestic club competition - the Top 14. Clubs also compete in the European knock-out competition, the Heineken Cup. It is the fifth french team sport in the terms of licensed players with 235,675 licensed players (2005).

The national side competes annually in the Six Nations Championship. France has been to every Rugby World Cup since its inception in 1987, and has been a runner-up on two occasions. France hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Rugby league

:See also Rugby league in France

Rugby league (rugby à 13 or jeu à 13) has been played in France since the 1930s. As with rugby union, the heartland of the game is the south of the country.

Tennis

Tennis is the second most popular French sport in terms of the number of licensed players with 1,054,513 licensed tennis players in France (2005).France holds the tennis Grand Slam tournament Roland Garros. Amelie Mauresmo also won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006. Jo Wilfried Tsonga came runners up in the 2008 Australian Open, he was ranked 35th.

Cycling

France holds the annual cycling race Tour de France, which takes place each July and lasts for three weeks. The overall leader of the race wears a yellow jersey called the maillot jaune.

ailing

Professional sailing in France is centred on singlehanded/shorthanded ocean racing with the pinnacle of this branch of the sport being the Vendee Globe singlehanded around the world race which starts every 4 years from the French Atlantic coast. Other significant events include the Solitaire du Figaro, Mini Transat 6.50, Tour de France a Voile and Route de Rhum transatlantic race. France has been a regular competitor in the Americas Cup since 1998.

Pétanque

Pétanque is mostly played in the South of France. Pétanque is not considered as a sport by many northern Frenchmen though the international federation is recognized by the IOC. [http://www.cmsboules.com/] [http://www.arisf.org/members.htm] .Professional players play the very competitive form of Pétanque which is called Pétanque Sport, under precise rules. The competitive form is played by about 480,000 persons licenced with the "Federation Française de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal" (FFPJP). The FFPJP is the 4th largest sports féderation in France.

Parkour

Developed in France, parkour ("art du déplacement") is a physical activity that is difficult to categorize. It is an art that resembles self-defense and martial arts. According to the founder David Belle, the spirit of parkour is guided in part by the notions of "escape" and "reach," that is, the idea of using quick thinking with dexterity to get out of difficult situations.

An important characteristic of parkour is efficiency. The basic meaning of this is that a traceur must not merely move as fast as he can, but move in a way that is the least energy-consuming and simultaneously the most direct. In addition, since parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last), efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, short and long-term.

Table football

Table football (babyfoot) is a very popular pastime in bars and in homes in France, and the French are the predominant winners of worldwide table football competitions.

Orienteering

Orienteering is a reasonably popular sport in France it is regulated by the Fédération Française de Course d'Orientation (FFCO) [http://www.orienteering.org/i3/index.php?/iof2006/iof/member_federations/iof_member_federations#FRA Retrieved on 22nd of June 2008] .

References

External links

* [http://www.linternaute.com/sport/classement/les-sports-les-plus-pratiques-en-france.shtml/the fifteen most popular sports in France (In French)]