|
“The coming weeks will be tough economically
but also humanely. This is why I wanted to confirm to you that
the continuity of the sport which is practised as a profession
is today assured,” Maracineau told a parliament session
overnight.
Maracineanu's comments will come as welcome news for France's
top soccer league, Ligue 1, as well as French rugby with the
national side set to host Ireland on Saturday in their Six
Nations finale.
The Paris Masters tennis tournament is also due to begin on
Monday.
France will go back into a nationwide lockdown starting this
week to try to contain the pandemic, which is threatening to
spiral out of control, Macron said in an address to the nation
on Wednesday.
The new measures -- which come into force on Friday and will
last until Dec. 1 -- will mean people have to stay in their
homes except to buy essential goods, seek medical attention, or
use their daily one-hour allocation of exercise.
All professional sports came to a halt amid the first lockdown
from mid-March to the end of May, resulting in the Ligue 1 being
stopped in April, while cycling's Tour de France and the French
Open tennis were rescheduled to a later date.
"High-level athletes will be allowed to train. And then we will
be allowed to compete because travelling for professional
reasons is allowed," Maracineanu added.
The Ligue 1 match between Olympique de Marseille and RC Lens
Ligue 1, which was due to be played on Friday, has been pushed
back to a later date after more than 10 players from the
northern club have tested positive for coronavirus.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Peter Rutherford & Simon
Cameron-Moore)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
