The Jeux de la Francophonie (Canadian English: Francophonie Games; British English: Francophone Games) are a combination of artistic and sporting events for the Francophonie, mostly French-speaking nations and former colonies of France, held every four years since 1989.
Editions YearEditionOpened byDateHost cityNo. ofAthletes (nations)1989IHassan II8–22 July Casablanca & Rabat, Morocco1,700 (39)1994IIFrançois Mitterrand5–13 July Paris, Évry & Bondoufle, France2,700 (45)1997IIIDidier Ratsiraka27 August – 6 September Antananarivo, Madagascar2,300 (38)2001IVAdrienne Clarkson14–24 July and Ottawa–Gatineau, Canada 2,400 (51)2005VMamadou Tandja7–17 December Niamey, Niger 2,500 (44)2009VIMichel Suleiman27 September – 6 October Beirut, Lebanon 2,500 (40)2013VIIFrançois Hollande6–15 September Nice, France 2,700 (54)2017VIIIAlassane Ouattara21–30 July Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire4,000 (49)2023IXFélix Tshisekedi 28 July – 6 August Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo3,000 (36)2027XTBA23 July – 1 August Yerevan, ArmeniaTBD2031XITBATBA TBDTBD
Events Sports There were four sports at the inaugural event in 1989: athletics, basketball, association football and judo. Handisport, handball, table tennis and wrestling were added to the competition programme in 1994. None of these four sports featured at the 1997 Jeux de la Francophonie, and boxing and tennis were introduced to the programme instead. Eight sports featured in 2001: the four inaugural sports, boxing and table tennis were included. Furthermore, parasports and beach volleyball competitions were held. Neither of these sports were included in 2005, with traditional style wrestling being demonstrated in addition to the six more established sports. The 2009 programme re-introduced beach volleyball.
Athletics () : 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023 Basketball () : 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023 Beach volleyball () : 2001, 2009 Boxing () : 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013 Cycling () : 2013, 2023 Road cycling (demonstration) () : 2017 Disabled sports () : 2001, 2009, 2017, 2023 Football () : 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023 Handball () : 1994 Judo () : 1989, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023 Table tennis () : 1994, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023 Tennis () : 1997 Wrestling () : 1994, 2013, 2017, 2023 Traditional African wrestling () : 2005 (demonstration), 2013, 2017, 2023
Cultural The Jeux de la Francophonie are distinctive, if not unique, among international multi-sport competitions for including competitive cultural performances and exhibitions, complete with gold, silver, and bronze medals for winning participants. Song () Storytelling () Traditional inspiration dance () Poetry () Painting () Photography () Sculpture ()
In 2001, street art was featured as a demonstration event.
Medal table An all-time Jeux de la Francophonie Medal Table from 1989 Jeux de la Francophonie to 2023 Jeux de la Francophonie, is tabulated below. The table is the sum of the medal tables of the various editions of the Jeux de la Francophonie.
Participation
The Jeux de la Francophonie are open to athletes and artists of the 53 member nations, 6 associate member nations and 25 observer nations and governments of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Canada is represented by three teams: Quebec, New Brunswick (the only officially bilingual Canadian province), and a team representing the remainder of Canada. The Belgian team is restricted to athletes from the French-speaking areas of the country.
Participation has so far varied between 1,700 and 4,000 athletes and artists in the past 20 years.
53 member nations or governments
French Community of Belgium
New Brunswick
Québec
Five associate member nations
New Caledonia
Observer territories, nations, and provinces
Saarland
See also Commonwealth Games Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games
References
External links Official site of the Comité international des jeux de la Francophonie