Seine-Saint-Denis secondary-school students try their hand at rugby with the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation

In conjunction with the Rugby World Cup, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation and the Ministry of Defence are inaugurating RUGBY SPIRIT 93, a sports and educational workshop for Seine-Saint-Denis secondary-school students. This initiative is part of an experimental education project kicked off in five Seine-Saint-Denis secondary schools by the Paris Political Studies Institute (Sciences Po) in partnership with the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation. The objective is to enhance the role of sports in education and foster social cohesiveness in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

During the 2007-08 school year, qualified educators from the Ministry of Defence will come to the schools each week to introduce fifth form (tenth grade) students to rugby. The first RUGBY SPIRIT 93 sessions have already taken place at the Alfred Nobel School in Clichy-sous-Bois. The project will be gradually extended to the Jean Renoir School in Bondy and the Auguste Blanqui School in Saint-Ouen.

“Discipline during training and preparation, a taste for physical effort and loyalty in combat are values shared by sports and the military, and are also the key values promoted by RUGBY SPIRIT 93,” commented Captain Alexis Latty, rugby director at the Ministry of Defence.

“With RUGBY SPIRIT 93, various neighbourhood stakeholders are joining forces to boost success in these secondary schools,” affirms Renaud Leblond, associate director of the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation. “The dual approach has both civic and athletic aspects.”

During RUGBY SPIRIT 93, top-ranking athletes from National Defence units will take part in classes and meet with students. Visits will also be organized to Defence facilities and to the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation’s sports entities, Lagardère Paris Racing and TeamLagardère. A study and athletic trip might also be organized at the end of the year to a rugby region in France or abroad.

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation
The aim of the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation is to forge excellence, nurture confidence and foster social cohesion in the fields of sports, culture and research. With these goals in mind, the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation supports talented young creative minds and sponsors of social-solidarity projects. It endows France with exceptional venues for sports and culture and engages in committed social action in the heart of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. TeamLagardère and Lagardère Paris Racing embody the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation’s goals in the realm of sports. www.fondation-jeanluclagardere.com.

The National Defence rugby programme
Rugby is a training ground for physical commitment, solidarity, humility and respect that naturally finds a prominent place in the athletic policy of the Ministry of Defence. This policy supports 200 athletes of international stature within the military and helps to strengthen ties between defence institutions and civil society. www.sports.defense.gouv.fr