France’s president Emmanuel Macron has urged his fellow countrymen to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, less than 200 days until his nation hosts the Olympic games.
Macron, 46, today posted a video to his social media channels of himself speaking while wearing a white t-shirt with the French Boxing Federation’s logo and a pair of sparring gloves slung over his shoulder.
In the video, he said that regular exercise is ‘good for the heath, it’s good for a lot of things’, encouraging those who could to do more than 30 minutes a day.
Macron, who boxes regularly in the gym, often with his presidential bodyguards, said that he hoped the 2024 Olympic Games, set to be hosted in Paris and other French cities, would lead to the nation becoming fitter.
He said that Olympics were ‘a way of having games that stay in our daily habits.’
France is set to host the 2024 Olympic Games in less than 200 days
![Macron, 46, today posted a video to his social media channels of himself speaking while wearing a white t-shirt with the French Boxing Federation's logo and a pair of sparring gloves slung over his shoulder](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/08/18/79758935-12939717-image-m-7_1704737952752.jpg)
Macron, 46, today posted a video to his social media channels of himself speaking while wearing a white t-shirt with the French Boxing Federation’s logo and a pair of sparring gloves slung over his shoulder
Officials in Macron’s office said the government had already met the target it set in 2017 to have 3 million more people exercising regularly and was now aiming for another 3 million by 2027.
But other data suggests that the challenge is greater than expected. A survey published by the country’s National Institute of Youth and People’s Education revealed that while 72% of French people exercise at least once a year, less than 20% exercise at least four times a week.
A separate study published by the EU found that just 45% of French people exercised once a week.
Sports England said that 63% of English people do ‘at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week.’
Paris 2024 promises to be the most accessible Olympics since 2012 and there are several Brits who will head across the channel with plenty of hope next summer.
At the summer’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranked seventh in the medal table with two golds, three silvers and five bronzes.
![Officials in Macron's office said the government had already met the target it set in 2017 to have 3 million more people exercising regularly and was now aiming for another 3 million by 2027](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/08/18/79759989-12939717-image-a-3_1704737862394.jpg)
Officials in Macron’s office said the government had already met the target it set in 2017 to have 3 million more people exercising regularly and was now aiming for another 3 million by 2027
![A survey published by the country's National Institute of Youth and People's Education revealed that while 72% of French people exercise at least once a year, less than 20% exercise at least four times a week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/08/18/79760005-12939717-image-a-4_1704737867403.jpg)
A survey published by the country’s National Institute of Youth and People’s Education revealed that while 72% of French people exercise at least once a year, less than 20% exercise at least four times a week
Katarina Johnson-Thompson completed a remarkable career redemption story to win gold in the heptathlon and she will look to add to her two gold medals in both the Worlds and the Commonwealth Games.
Josh Kerr also stunned Norway’s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1,500m to take gold and he will hope to repeat the feat in Paris, after winning bronze in Tokyo.
There are plenty of other hopeful Brits, while we also see Breakdancing debut at the Olympics, although Baseball and Karate have dropped out.
The Paralympics will follow the Olympics and it is set to be the biggest one yet.
The 12-day event is expected to bring together 4,400 of the world’s most outstanding Paralympic athletes.
Great Britain will again go in with strong expectations after finishing second in the medal table at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At Tokyo, they won 124 medals across 18 different sports, which saw them reach the podium in more sports than any other nation at a single games.
In the summer, they were fourth at the Para Athletics World Championship, with UK Athletics’ head of Paralympic performance, Tom Paulson, insisting the British team is in a good place ahead of next summer.
![Paris 2024 promises to be the most accessible Olympics since 2012](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/08/18/79760041-12939717-image-a-6_1704737873548.jpg)
Paris 2024 promises to be the most accessible Olympics since 2012
![Despite the global hype for the Olympic games, few in France are as happy to be hosting them](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/08/18/79760039-12939717-image-a-5_1704737871211.jpg)
Despite the global hype for the Olympic games, few in France are as happy to be hosting them
‘It has been a really positive week for the team,’ he told BBC Sport. ‘There are athletes leaving here knowing they have work to do ahead of next year, but I am excited for what lies ahead over the next 12 months.’
The Paralympic programme in Paris will retain the 22 sports from Tokyo and it promises to be a well-run event after the World Championship this summer also took place in the French capital.
Despite the global hype for the Olympic games, few in France are as happy to be hosting them.
In just two years, the proportion of French people who think that hosting the games will be a ‘good thing’ has gone from 76% to 65%, according to a poll published by the Odoxa institute in November.
Parisians are even less keen on the games, with just 56% of them saying they’re happy with the Games, a figure that Odoxa said represented a ‘massive’ level of distrust.
Last year, security firm Dragonfly said that the threat of terrorism was ‘severe’, citing ‘the potential intent of far-right and, particularly, jihadist extremists to target the Olympics, in light of several attacks in France in recent years.’
The firm added: ‘Russia state-sponsored groups are very likely to be motivated to target the event and potentially its sponsors ahead of the Olympics.
‘State-backed groups have frequently targeted the Olympics in previous years, following its exclusion from the event.
‘Pro-Russia hacktivists are also likely to mount DDoS attacks on the official event and corporate websites in France. They have done so around similar high-profile events in Europe in the past year, and based on previous campaigns, organisations in banking and aviation are particularly likely targets.’
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