The French Paralympic and Sports Committee
The French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) is the sporting movement body that represents, leads, and coordinates all of the entities that provide sports activities for people with disabilities in France, whether for leisure or for competition.
The CPSF is a non-profit association governed by the French law of 1901. When it was created in 1992, it was called the "French liaison committee for sports and exercise for people with disabilities” (COFLAPSH). At the time, it had three members—the French Para Sport Federation (Fédération Française Handisport), the French Federation for Adapted Sport (Fédération Française du Sport Adapté), and the French Federation for the Deaf (Fédération des Sourds de France)—and was chaired by André Auberger. It was renamed the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) in 1996.
The CPSF has two missions:
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As a member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), where it represents France, it selects and manages the French team at the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
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To lead, coordinate, and represent all of France's sport federation members in order to increase participation in sport by people with disabilities.
A movement that responds to a need
The French Paralympic Movement is founded on four essential values: universality, equality, unity, and fairness. It was established due to the observation that participation in sports—particularly high-level sports—by people with disabilities was still marginal and poorly coordinated. The CPSF helps the Paralympic Sports Movement develop so that people with disabilities can take part in the sport or exercise of their choice, and has pledged that the CPSF will exist “for as long as disabled people do not have access, in appropriate conditions, to the sport and exercise of their choice.”*
Recognised legitimacy
A reform of the CPSF bylaws began in 2013 under the presidency of Emmanuelle Assmann. Any federation involved in developing sport for people with disabilities can join the CPSF, which is divided into three bodies: founding members, Paralympic sports, and associated sports. Today, the CPSF comprises 39 member federations.
The international legitimacy of the CPSF was further consolidated in 2015 when its role was recognised in the French sports code. The CPSF is also a founding member of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and of the National Sport Agency (ANS).
*Extract from the French Paralympic Movement’s charter of values and ethics.
