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Any athlete, whether amateur or professional, who comes to a competition in France, such as the Six Nations rugby tournament, must be vaccinated to enter a sports venue, AFP learned from government sources.
The day after the expulsion of the world tennis number one, Novak Djokovic, from Australia, the French government specified that this rule will not only apply to French or foreign amateur and professional athletes who are already in France, but also to foreign athletes who travel to the country to compete.
“The vaccination certificate applies to everyone, to volunteers, to high-level athletes, including those who arrive from abroad, until further notice,” the Sports Ministry told AFP on Monday.
Until now, the rule was only clear for athletes living in France.
Since the announcement of the launch of the vaccination certificate, the Sports Ministry had specified that it would only apply to professional athletes working in France.
This position comes to clarify the words pronounced last week by the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, which had hinted that in theory the health bubble of sporting events such as the Roland Garros It would allow receiving athletes from abroad who are not vaccinated, such as Djokovic.
An athlete “who is not vaccinated (…) will be able to participate in the competition since the protocol, the health bubble of these major sporting events, will allow it”, the minister had explained to the France Info chain on January 7.
No exceptions at Roland Garros
Ten days after the words of Roxana Maracineanu, and one of the expulsion from Australia of Novak Djokovic, it is clear that there will be no exceptions for sports stars who are not vaccinated.
“It cannot be that for great athletes, artists, personalities, the rule is repealed. It must be applied to everyone,” the boss of the LREM (La Republique en Marche) political group in the National Assembly, Christophe Castaner, said on Monday on the airwaves. of the BFM-RMC chain.
Djokovic “has no vocation to play if he does not respect a rule that will apply to the spectators, to the boys who collect the balls, to the professionals who go to work and have a business in Roland Garros. What world would we be in if it was decided that because someone is a star, a rule can be repealed?
Currently, it is not necessary to be vaccinated to enter French soil, but a vaccination certificate will apply to everyone who enters an establishment receiving public (ERP).
The next international competitions are a judo tournament (the Grand Slam, February 5 and 6), the Six Nations rugby tournament (February 5 to March 19), with the Tournament of Roland Garros tennis on the horizon.
On Sunday, the president of the French Tennis Federation (FFT) Gilles Moretton, had specified that “we work in collaboration with the public authorities, who will specify the rules regarding the reception of unvaccinated foreign athletes for our tournament in good time”.
the tournament of Roland Garros It will take place from May 22 to June 5.
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