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1. National strategy(ies)

2. Promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people

3. Physical education in schools

4. Collaboration and partnerships

National strategy(ies)

In France, the current sport-health framework is the National Sport-Health Strategy 2025–2030, launched in September 2025. It sets out 12 measures to promote physical activity for all, reduce sedentary behaviour, and improve well-being, while placing mental health at the centre of the strategy and explicitly targeting social and territorial inequalities.

The strategy gives particular attention to young people. It includes the generalisation of 30 minutes of daily physical activity in primary school, reinforced measures for middle and high school students who are furthest from sport, including physical fitness tests in grade 6, and the development of health-promoting campuses in higher education. It also introduces an annual “month of physical activity” from 2026, with free activities across France.

The network of Maisons Sport-Santé remains a central instrument of implementation. The strategy plans for 550 such centres nationwide, and by April 2026 the Ministry reported 581 centres already deployed and more than 870,000 people having benefited from personalised support (French Ministry of Sports).

The strategy is based on a multi-partner governance model:

At national level, it is an interministerial policy co-piloted by the Directorate General of Health (DGS) and the Directorate of Sports (DS). The strategy now includes a specific “sport-health-youth” strategic committee (CoStrat) meeting every six months, an annual steering committee (CoPil), an annual monitoring committee, and a scientific committee responsible for following implementation, producing recommendations, and supporting interim and final evaluation.

At regional level, implementation is jointly led by Regional Health Agencies (ARS) and Regional Academic Delegations for Youth, Engagement and Sport (DRAJES). Because youth is a priority, a specific annual committee is also held with the rectorate to coordinate and monitor youth-related actions. At territorial level, local authorities are key partners, while DT ARS and SDJES support local coordination and the development of initiatives.

Source : National Strategy Sport-Health 2025-2030.

Promoting and supporting sport and physical activity among young people

The Ministry in charge of Sport promotes and acts in favour of access for all to sporting activities and seeks to reduce inequalities in access.

The National Sport-Health Strategy 2025–2030 extended and updated the earlier 2019–2024 framework. The current strategy places particular emphasis on reducing inequalities, supporting activity throughout the school-to-university pathway, and integrating physical activity into prevention and mental health policies. It also builds on a stronger territorial network of Maisons Sport-Santé and on closer cooperation between the health, education and sport administrations.

Access to sport for young people remains a priority because adolescence is a key period during which physical activity often begins to decline. The 2025 national barometer shows that 84% of 15–29-year-olds still practise sport regularly, but the strategy now focuses more explicitly on pupils and students who are furthest from regular activity, notably through the generalisation of 30 minutes of daily physical activity in primary school, targeted action for secondary-school pupils, and sport-health initiatives in higher education.

Promoting girls’ and young women’s participation also remains central. Although the gender gap in regular practice has narrowed considerably, inequalities persist in club membership, access to responsibilities and visibility. In response, the ministry has increased support for women’s sport and Arcom continues its annual “Sport Féminin Toujours” campaign to strengthen the media visibility of female athletes.

Support for young women must also take account of life-course transitions. The ministry continues to publish guidance on physical activity during and after pregnancy, confirming that sport and maternity are now treated as a normal and supported combination rather than as a contradiction.

Finally, the protection of young practitioners has become a major policy issue. France now relies on Signal-Sports, honorability checks and the “Terrain d’Égalité” label to prevent violence, discrimination and abuse in sport. These tools reflect a broader shift from access alone to the creation of safe, inclusive and respectful sporting environments for all young people.

Source : National Strategy Sport-Health 2025-2030.

Physical education in schools

Considered to be a factor that contributes to both social inclusion and to better health, sport is a compulsory subject in school, where it is known as EPS - physical and sports education (éducation physique et sportive) in France.

In France, EPS aims to develop students’ motor skills, help them learn how to prepare and train, exercise responsibility within a collective, and build their health sustainably, while also giving them access to a broader physical and sporting culture (Source: Bulletin officiel de l'Education nationale).

The teaching of sport is defined in the official curricula of the primary and secondary cycles:

• Primary school teaching programmes, BO hors-série n° 3 of 19 June 2008
• Secondary school PE programmes, Order of 8 July 2008 B.O special No. 6 of 28 August 2008; come into force at the start of the 2009-2010 school year
• The common PE syllabus for the second year of general and technological secondary school and for the first and final year of general and technological secondary school is defined by the order of 17-1-2019 published in the BO spécial n°1 of 22 January 2019.

Teachers have a wide range of digital teaching aids for drawing up their lesson plans, including the Ministry of National Education's Eduscol website dedicated to EPS, which compiles information about competitions, programmes and news concerning physical education.

Primary education

In infant and primary schools, 108 hours a year are devoted to physical education, which equates to an average of three hours a week. EPS is intended to meet five learning outcomes (champs d’apprentissage):

1. Developing motor skills and learning to express yourself using your body;
2. Learning how to use methods and tools via exercise and sport;
3. Sharing rules and taking on roles and responsibilities;
4. Learning to keep fit through regular exercise;
5. Adopting an artistic and sporting physical culture.

Over and above developing motor skills and improving health, EPS must also play a part in ensuring the social inclusion of children by:

• Contributing to health education and enabling pupils to become more familiar with their own bodies;

• Contributing to "safety education" through controlled risk-taking;

• Teaching accountability and independence and passing on such ethical and social values as respecting rules, yourself and others.

In 2022, the Ministry of National Education and Youth has made a joint commitment with the Ministry of Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games to enable every primary school pupil to benefit from at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity (DPA), in addition to the physical activity and sport already taught.

This measure is part of the "Health Promoting School" approach and the National Sport and Health Strategy. It is in line with Article 17 of Law 2022 of 2 March 2022 aimed at democratising sport in France.

After a first year of positive experimentation with volunteer schools, the measure has been in effect since the start of the 2022 school year. Thus, daily physical activity is encouraged in all school and extracurricular areas and times according to the choice of the teaching teams. Adapted to the context of each school, the "30 minutes of daily physical activity" can take various forms and take place during the various school periods, in conjunction with or in connection with teaching time, during break times. The creation of links with local sports clubs is encouraged.

A 30' APQ referent has been appointed to each academic director of national education services, responsible for monitoring and support.

Secondary schools

All secondary school pupils attend compulsory weekly physical education classes for four hours in total in Year 7 (first year) and three hours in all the other years. These classes are assessed as part of the DNB - national general certificate of secondary education (Diplôme national du brevet) via coursework.

Pupils can practise a range of activities out of a choice of 26 physical, sporting and artistic activities defined at national level. Under the Common Base of Knowledge and Skills (see Eurydice: Introduction) for example, all pupils must take swimming, or more specifically "learn how to swim".

At secondary-school level, physical education also serves a number of educational purposes:

• Following rules;
• Embarking on a project-based approach;
• Taking on responsibilities;
• Knowing and looking after yourself.

Sixth-form colleges (lycées)

All sixth-formers follow 2 hours of compulsory physical education (EPS) lessons a week. The EPS syllabus for general and technological lycées includes aspects relating to the Guidance and Planning Law for the Future of Schools no. 2005-380 of 23 April 2005. It is intended to follow on from the syllabus taught at secondary school. EPS is assessed as part of A Levels (the Baccalauréat) via CCF – coursework (contrôle en cours de formation) during the final year. In addition, if students would like to devote more time to sports training, they have the possibility of choosing:

• Optional EPS lessons for 3 hours a week during all three years spent at lycée in France (equivalent to the last year of secondary school/Year 11 and the two years of sixth-form college), focusing on two activities;
• Exploratory lessons for 5 hours a week in Year 11, possibly then followed by additional teaching for 4 hours a week during the final cycle.

Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have acted as a major accelerator of public policies in the fields of sport, education and health in France. While early initiatives were framed in preparation for the Games, current policies now focus on their long-term legacy, aiming to embed physical activity more sustainably in the daily lives of young people.

In this perspective, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Sports have consolidated and extended several measures initially introduced before 2024. Among the most visible outcomes is the continued promotion of 30 minutes of daily physical activity in primary schools, which has become a key lever to tackle sedentary lifestyles among children.

More broadly, the legacy of Paris 2024 reflects a set of policy priorities that remain consistent with the initial roadmap, while being reframed within long-term strategies. These include strengthening the links between sport and academic success, increasing time devoted to physical activity among young people, and promoting inclusive sport for pupils with disabilities. The Games also contributed to the development of stronger partnerships between schools, sports federations and local authorities, notably through initiatives such as the “Génération 2024” label.

In addition, the legacy is material as well as institutional. Significant investments have been made in sports infrastructure, with thousands of new or renovated facilities intended for long-term public use, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

Finally, the post-2024 period reflects a broader shift from an event-driven approach to a structural public policy perspective. Physical activity is now increasingly considered not only as an educational objective, but also as a key determinant of health, well-being and social inclusion, particularly for young people.

Source: 

• OECD (2025), The Legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Upping the Game, Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED), OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/d7938b7f-en. 

• French government (2024). A lasting legacy for the country.

Collaboration and partnerships

Physical education (EPS) is underpinned by a partnership between the Ministry of National Education, various sports associations and the local authorities who lend their support in a variety of ways, such as through grants for school associations and assistance with the running of sports facilities. This intersectorial collaboration takes shape particularly through "extracurricular sport” (sport scolaire).

Extracurricular sport

Over and above physical education, which is taught during national school hours and lessons, pupils are able to take additional sports activities on an "extracurricular sports" basis.  This is organised by school-based sports associations that have been given a public service mission for educational and social purposes. Their role is clarified in the agreements they sign with the Ministry of National Education. These school partner associations are as follows:

• At primary level, the USEP – Sports Education Union for Primary Education (Union sportive de l'enseignement du premier degré);
• At secondary level, the UNSS - National Union for Extracurricular Sport (Union nationale du sport scolaire).

An extracurricular sports association must be set up in each secondary school and lycée. An integral component of the institution’s strategic plan, it must contribute towards a thriving academic scene within the school.

School-based sports associations play a central role in promoting physical activity among young people in France. They offer pupils the opportunity to practise one or more sports for around three hours per week throughout the school year, in addition to physical education lessons. Students are also encouraged to take part in the organisation of events and competitions, contributing to their civic engagement.

More broadly, school sport involved in 2024 over 2 million students across all school sport federations, highlighting its central role in national strategies aimed at increasing physical activity among young people (Source: French Ministry of National Education. 2024).

Sports academy (section sportive scolaire)

Sixth-formers attending lycée who are keen on taking their sports practice to another level, all the while following a regular academic curriculum, can choose to enrol in a sports academy. Students are selected on the basis of a sporting and academic application.

Sports in universities

At the university, the Service interuniversitaires des activités physiques et sportives (SIUAPS) allows students to register for regular sports activities (group sports, etc.) at modest prices.