French President Emmanuel Macron plays basketball with Paralympic athletes during the Paralympic Day at Place de la Republique, in Paris, on 8 October 2023. (Photo by SARAH MEYSSONNIER / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron tried out wheelchair basketball as he urged the public to support the 2024 Paralympic Games on Sunday.
"I really want to encourage all our compatriots to buy tickets," Macron said on the eve of the opening of the ticket office for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Earlier, Macron played a few minutes of wheelchair basketball alongside Tony Estanguet, the chief organizer of the 2024 Paris Olympics, and International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons.
He then tried his hand at table tennis with athlete Lucas Creange, to mark Paralympic Day in the French capital.
"Tomorrow the ticket office opens and these are going to be fantastic sporting moments," said Macron. "These Paralympic Games will allow us to see very great athletes, major competitions, you have more than 300 (French) athletes who will be there."
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On Monday, some 2.8 million tickets will go on sale on a first-come, first-served basis, with prices ranging from 15 to 100 euros ($16-$106), excluding the opening and closing ceremonies.
"Half of these tickets cost less than 24 euros, all the tickets are less than 100 euros, so it's a great opportunity to discover these sports," the French president added.
Ticket costs for the Olympic Games have been criticized as too expensive.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said 300,000 tickets for the Paralympic Games would be distributed in particular to schools.
The State purchased 400,000 tickets, 100,000 for the Olympics and 300,000 for the Paralympic Games.
"We have high hopes for these Paralympic Games," Estanguet said of the competition which takes place after the Olympics from 28 August to 8 September.
