Each year since 1977, the French Prime Minister has awarded the official label “Grande Cause Nationale” (great national cause) to a public interest campaign implemented by an organization or a group of associations, which will receive assistance and publicity throughout the year. The theme changes every year. For the first time, the theme in the spotlight for 2024 will be physical activity and sport. This will coincide with the organization of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, an ideal timing to encourage French people to adopt less sedentary lifestyles.
Inactivity is estimated to cause 9 percent of deaths in France, reminded the French Government in a statement. This adds to its financial impact, estimated each year in France at €17 billion due to sedentary lifestyles and €10 billion due to obesity alone.
In 2024, the Grande Cause Nationale (GCN 2024) will revolve around three objectives: 1) putting sport at the heart of public policies; 2) mobilizing stakeholders in sports and other sectors to enhance the place of sport in the French society; and 3) encouraging the French to do more physical and sporting activities. Initiatives will include the organization of special days, dubbed “Pour une France en forme” (For a fit France), in each region of the country in the first half of 2024, as well as a convention for the elimination of violence in sports, also planned for 2024. Several events will be organized across France to encourage people of all ages and abilities to move for better health. Furthermore, France’s Minister for Sport, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, launched the slogan “Bouge 30 minutes chaque jour!” (Move for 30 minutes every day!), an easy-to-remember recipe to promote the annual campaign.
GCN 2024 will be supported by a large-scale communication campaign featuring sports personalities like retired French track and field sprinter and three-time gold medalist Marie-José Pérec, basketball star Tony Parker and football world champion Thierry Henry.
