Jeux de la Francophonie

Logo of the Games

The Jeux de la Francophonie (Canadian English: Francophonie Games; British English: Francophone Games (French-speakers' Games) or The Francophonie) are a combination of artistic and sporting events for the Francophonie, mostly French speaking nations, held every four years since 1989, similar in concept to the Commonwealth Games.

Editions

Year Edition Date Host city No. of
Athletes (nations)
1989 I 8–22 July Morocco Casablanca/Rabat, Morocco 1,700 (39)
1994 II 5–13 July France Paris/Évry-Bondoufle, France 2,700 (45)
1997 III 27 August – 6 September Madagascar Antananarivo, Madagascar 2,300 (38)
2001 IV 14–24 July Canada/Quebec Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada/Quebec 2,400 (51)
2005 V 7–17 December Niger Niamey, Niger 2,500 (44)
2009 VI 27 September – 6 October Lebanon Beirut, Lebanon 2,500 (40)
2013 VII 6–15 September France Nice, France 2,700 (54)
2017 VIII 21–30 July Ivory Coast Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2021 IX New Brunswick Moncton-Dieppe, New Brunswick

Events

Sports

There were four sports at the inaugural event in 1989: athletics, basketball, association football and judo. Handisport, handball, table tennis and wrestling were added to the competition programme in 1994. None of these four sports featured at the 1997 Jeux de la Francophonie, and boxing and tennis were introduced to the programme instead. Eight sports featured in 2001: the four inaugural sports, boxing and table tennis were included. Furthermore, handisport and beach volleyball competitions were held as demonstration events. Neither of these demonstration sports were included in 2005, with traditional style wrestling being demonstrated in addition to the six more established sports. The 2009 programme re-introduced beach volleyball.

Cultural

In 2001, street art featured as a demonstration event.

Participation

Jeux de la Francophonie are open to athletes and artists of the 55 member nations, 3 associate member nations and 12 observer nations of the Francophonie. Canada is represented by three teams: Quebec, New Brunswick (the only officially bilingual Canadian province) and another team representing the rest of the country. The Belgian team is restricted to athletes from the French-speaking areas of the country.

Participation has so far varied between 1,700 and 3,000 athletes and artists.

55 Member Nations or Governments

3 Associate Member Nations

12 Observer Nations

See also

References

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