Top Ten Favourite Sports in France

With over 2.3 million licensed players football is clearly the most popular sport in France, although it is heavily imbalanced towards male participation with females accounting for only 3% of the total. La Fédération française de tennis counted just over one million licenced players, 32.7 percent of whom were female. The third most popular sport was horse riding with just over half a million participants, with nearly 70 percent of riders less than 19 years of age and 78.6% of whom were female. Since the 1990s, France has emerged as a major handball team. In the 1992 summer Olympics France won the bronze medal giving birth to their nickname les Bronzés. This led to handball becoming a more popular sport, which was one of France's most popular sports in primary and secondary schools, in 1995 France won the world championships beating Croatia in the final round.

The France national football team represents France in international football, but in Australia, we call it soccer. It is fielded by the French Football Federation. The France national football team’s colours are blue, white and red because of the French flag. The France national football team is named ‘The Blues’ because all of the country's sporting national teams are named ‘The Blues’ or ‘Les Bleus’ this is also because the blue shirts each team wears. France played its first official match in 1904, and today they play their home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis which is a suburb of Paris. The team has won one FIFA World Cup title, two UEFA European Football Championships, an Olympic tournament, and two FIFA Confederations Cups. Then France's 2001 Confederations Cup victory.

1. Soccer - Soccer is by far the most popular French sport with 2 Million players. Soccer (Football), it is the most popular sport in France, so there are many places where you can play this fun and worldwide known sport. Many people like to play soccer in France, there are many reasons for this, one is that France has won world competitions such as the 1998 FIFA World Cup. There are also competitions along the year where soccer national teams play so you can expect these matches.

2. Tennis - Which has half the amount of players is actually a British adaptation of a French medieval game: Le jeu de paume. Tennis is also one other most popular sports in the country. If you are in France around last May or beginning of June, you can expect one important tournament such as the Roland Garros. This tournament belongs to one of the four Grand Slams played on clay. It is the second Grand Slam played each year, taking out the last week of May and the first week of June. It is is the largest tournament held on clay and the only one of four Grand Slam to develop on this surface. So, don't lose the opportunity to watch it. Do you want more information?

3. Horseback riding - Horseback riding is the third most popular French sport, but France is number one in Europe when it comes to equestrian tourism.

4. Judo - Judo is extremely popular in France. It is actually considered the most educational sport for children and France has three times more Judo club members than Japan even though the French population is half the size of Japan’s. Judo is a sport of unarmed combat that is used to train the body and mind. The Levallois Sporting Club Judo is a judo club. It's one of the biggest judo club in France with 800 members. The first judo club in Levallois was founded in 1949. In 1984, the club was created into the Levallois Sporting Club. A few years later the club became one of the most important judo clubs in France.

5. Basketball - Basketball is a big deal in France, but only because basketball is the second most popular sport in the world after soccer.

6. Golf - Golf is also an interesting sport, filled with fun and excitement, and a country such as France doesn’t miss out on this kind of entertainment. If you are visiting this country and you want to be part of this appealing sport, you can take golf courses in France that will serve to improve your game or learn it from scratch. Golf courses in France are provided in most clubs, they are the fastest and simplest way to learn the secrets and techniques of the game, but you can also hire a personal trainer to help you improve. Golf in France is as strong as anywhere else in continental Europe, with over 400 courses, you can enjoy this sport during your stay, nothing like a vacation learning a new skill or practising the sport you like in a healthy and entertaining way. France offers many hotels that feature golf courses on site, prices vary from hotel to hotel; you’ll certainly find one that suits you the best.

7. Cycling - Cycling is one of the most popular sports in France, with thousands of riders cycling every day as professional, amateur and for pleasure. You'll see many people on the roads in small groups, teams or as individuals. Just for interest, the Tour de France is the world's biggest spectator sport, With more than 2,000 miles course lasts up to three weeks and is held in July. The route changes from each year and sometimes goes abroad. However, the end of the race is always on the Champs Elysees at Paris. The race started in 1903 and crosses France, there are some very famous sections with step rides over the mountains, such as the stage at the Alpe d'Huez, there are many famous cyclists such as Louison Bobet, Raymond Poulidor, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and of course Lance Armstrong.

8. Rugby - France is host to the 2007 Rugby World Cup.The most unpredictable rugby team in the world, sometimes they play the most spectacular and imaginative rugby ever, but often at the beginning of the second half, you think they have just come back from a wine tasting. The first rugby team in France dates back to 1872, with Le Harve. they started playing the Five Nations in 1910, and won their first match in 1911, they had to wait until 1959 to win the Five Nations, 1968 for the first Grand Slam, 1977 the second time, 1981 for the third, 1987, the forth, 1998 the sixth time.Some of the most famous players are Serge BLANCO, Abdelatif BENAZZI, Philippe BERNAT-SALLES, Fabian GALTHIE, Christophe LAMAISON, Thierry LACROIX, Fabien PELOUS (100+ caps), Philippe SELLA.

9. Skiing - With some of the best snow and slopes in Europe, the mountains are the perfect training ground for downhill, slalom and cross-country skiing.

Marielle Goitschel

Jean Claude Killy

Émile Allais

10. Petanque - This is the famous game that is played outside of the French cafes, with a glass of wine, or if you are from the South of France at least a glass of Ricard! There are two versions of the game Petanque and Boules, the rules are slightly different. The game is very social played amongst friends and family, however, at a professional level, it is a very serious and skilful game. Check out the site for more information about Petanque.