Sports

A worker in front of the Paris 2024 Olympic Village construction site, which straddles the towns and cities of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, L'Ile-Saint-Denis and Saint-Denis. February 27, 2024. IAN LANGSDON/AFP A complex web of companies, front men, undeclared and undocumented workers and a main contractor claiming to have seen nothing all allegedly converged in the construction of an Olympic Village, where athletes from around the world gathered for one of the biggest international sporting events in summer 2024. While the Paris Olympic Games are now just a memory, a trial concerning such dealings opened at the courthouse in Bobigny, near the French capital, on Monday, February 2. It is scheduled to run until February 20. During the proceedings, 21 individuals an...

As its name suggests, the FIFA World Cup is meant to be a universal event, a major popular celebration – at least in theory. The 2026 edition, scheduled from June 11 to July 19 in Mexico, Canada and above all the United States – where 78 of the 104 matches will be played – seems to be taking a very different path. Donald Trump's domestic and foreign policies have complicated preparations for the tournament and have generated widespread anxiety about how it will be held. Within this context, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has been notably silent and has withstood the MAGA leader's decisions without protest –as if he were a powerless bystander to the preparations for an event he is supposedly overseeing. The FIFA chief has repeatedly promoted this as the ...

US' Lindsey Vonn reacts after crashing as she competes in the women's downhill race part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30, 2026. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP US skier Lindsey Vonn insisted her dream of competing at next week's Winter Olympics was not over despite a crash during the Crans-Montana downhill event on Friday, January 30. "I crashed today in the downhill race in Switzerland and injured my left knee," the 41-year-old American ski racer said on social media. "My Olympic dream is not over." Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion and one of the most recognisable faces in world sport, lost control on a turn and skidded out into the safety netting during Friday's race, the final downhill ...

France's prop Uini Atonio takes part in a training session at the Louis II Stadium (Stade Louis II) in the Principality of Monaco, on July 4, 2023. VALERY HACHE / AFP France prop Uini Atonio has had to retire from all rugby with immediate effect after being hospitalized on Tuesday, January 28 after "a heart attack," his club La Rochelle announced in a statement. The 35-year-old New Zealand-born star had been a pivotal figure for France, under coach Fabien Galthié, winning two Six Nations titles, including the Grand Slam in 2022. He was still part of Galthié's plans, having been named in his initial squad last week for France's upcoming defense of their Six Nations crown. "Atonio was admitted to La Rochelle hospital yesterday ...

French NBA player Victor Wembanyama said Tuesday, January 27, that he was "horrified" by the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti shot dead in Minneapolis by ICE officers during anti-immigration operations launched by Donald Trump. "Every day I wake up and see the news, and I'm horrified," responded the San Antonio Spurs center when asked during his team's training session. He called it "crazy that some people might make it seem like, or make it sound like it’s acceptable," as some in the US government defended the agents involved. The French star was nevertheless cautious: "I'm conscious also that saying everything that's on my mind would have a cost that's too great for me right now." "I know I'm a foreigner. I live in this count...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday, January 28, urged the US government to provide reassurances to World Cup visitors, days after images of federal immigration agents killing a second person in Minneapolis sent shockwaves around the world. The United States is co-hosting this summer's football showcase with Canada and Mexico. Most of the games are being staged in the United States, with concerns growing among overseas visitors that they could be caught up in President Donald Trump's often brutal immigration crackdown. "We need to show a better face to the world, that we are going to welcome people, that they're not going to have immigration problems," Bass said. Bass told reporters she was "sure" that sports fans visiting Los Angeles for the ...

Paul Pogba, the French midfielder for Monaco, during the Ligue 1 match against Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Louis-II in the Principality of Monaco, November 29, 2025. VALERY HACHE / AFP On July 3, 2025, Paul Pogba's eyes sparkled. After three seasons lost to injury, a doping suspension and a bizarre criminal case in which he was the victim, the new AS Monaco player fantasized about a return to competition against his boyhood club, Le Havre, on the opening day of the French football championship in mid-August. "That would be a beautiful story," the 2018 World Cup winner told the press at the time. However, his hopes were quickly quashed by Monaco's CEO Thiago Scuro. "I can guarantee you that he won't be able to play," said Scuro, suggesting tha...

President Donald Trump stands on stage next to the FIFA World Cup after receiving the FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, on December 5, 2025. JACQUELYN MARTIN / AP The idea is beginning to gain traction. Slowly, but steadily. Should people boycott the Men's Football World Cup, from June 11 to July 19, in response to the policies – particularly foreign policy – of the United States president, one of the tournament's co-hosts (along with Canada and Mexico)? Donald Trump's intention to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Danish crown, along with his threat to impose prohibitive tariffs on countries that oppose him, has certainly given weight to this possibility in Europe. Especially since,...