The French National Police Team is strengthening its ranks by announcing the integration of six new athletes from cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, ski cross, mogul skiing and speed skating. Currently training to become reservists in Grenoble, then in Annecy, these top athletes will join the ranks of the National Police with the ambition of shining in Milan-Cortina in 2026 and at the Winter Olympic Games in the French Alps in 2030.
The spirit of performance at the heart of the commitment
Since the official launch of the French National Police Team in April 2023, more than sixty top-level athletes and parasports enthusiasts, across all sports, have joined the adventure. Their mission? To proudly represent the French National Police Force at their upcoming international competitions. Whether they are police officers by profession or under contract as operational reservists, these athletes will be keen to win medals and uphold the essential values of the National Police, namely self-sacrifice, discipline, commitment and courage.
The French National Police Team relies on the remarkable performances of its high-level sports reservists to promote the values it shares with the world of sport. While the new recruits are getting to grips with their roles, the athletes already involved in the programme have enjoyed a series of successes. The 2024-2025 season has been particularly fruitful:
- Marielle Berger-Sabbatel (ski cross): five new podium finishes including two silver medals in Val di Fassa (Italy) and Craigleith (Canada). For Marielle, this brings her total to 31 World Cup podiums, but above all a 5th place in the world rankings.
- Camille Cerutti (alpine skiing: downhill and Super-G): successful comeback after injury with a season’s best time in the Super-G in St. Moritz (Switzerland) and a first selection for the world ski championships.
- Jeanne Richard (biathlon): two podium finishes (individual bronze in Ruhpolding, relay silver in Oberhof), 6th place overall, several flower ceremonies, and a blue bib kept until the last race.
- Léo Anguenot (alpine skiing: slalom and giant slalom): first giant podium finish at the World Cup in Alta Badia (Italy), just 85 hundredths of a second behind the winner. A fine demonstration of consistency and fighting spirit.
- Oscar Burnham (para alpine skiing, standing category): two podium finishes in Feldberg (Germany) and 3rd place in the overall World Cup slalom rankings.
- Hyacinthe Deleplace (para alpine skiing, visually impaired category), guided by Roy Piccard: bronze medal in slalom 1 of the sixth stage.
- Théo Schely (cross-country skiing): despite a season marred by Covid, which meant he had to miss the North American races, Théo Schely achieved his first career top 10 this season at the Finnish World Cup stage in Lahti.
A structured system for athletes
Since 1982, the French National Police has actively supported top-level sport by supporting athletes in their dual sporting and professional careers. With 40 years of successful experience in integrating top-level athletes into its workforce, it wanted to strengthen its commitment to supporting the ambitions of French sport, particularly in the context of major events organised in France, starting with 2024. This commitment was realised in October 2022 with the signing of a framework agreement with the Agence Nationale du Sport, thus establishing a new framework for the recruitment, integration and retraining of athletes.
The French National Police is committed to supporting high-level sport and promoting the values of self-sacrifice and discipline through exceptional athletes. The careers of these young sportsmen and women will be supported by the National Police’s Mission Sport, which will offer them a training framework, personalised support and assistance with professional retraining for their post-sporting career. This institutional support is essential to enable them to achieve their sporting goals and ensure a brilliant career both on the slopes and in the stadiums.
Today, more than 50 athletes, members of the Team, benefit from an agreement established with the National Sports Agency, reinforced by commitments shared with their federations. The sportsmen and women join the French National Police, obtain an employment contract and maintain a relationship with the institution based on listening, reciprocity and trust. In exchange for the financial support, training and opportunities for professional retraining offered by the National Police’s Sports Mission, the members are responsible for representing the institution in the field of sport. They thus take on the role of ambassadors for the National Police among the general public, while embodying the values of sport within the police community itself. In other words, they are ambassadors for the National Police among the French people and ambassadors for sport among police officers.
Ski champions in the National Police? A new generation looking ahead to Milan-Cortina 2026 and the 2030 Olympics
With these six new recruits, the French National Police Team now has 13 athletes from winter sports. This new wave of recruitment illustrates the desire to establish a long-term presence in winter disciplines by supporting these athletes’ careers until their next major events.
The new faces of the National Police Team:
- Rémi Bourdin (23 years old) – cross-country skiing
- Mathis Desloges (22 years old) – cross-country skiing
- Melvin Tchiknavorian (27 years old) – ski cross
- Camille Cabrol (27 years old) – mogul skiing
- Paco Rassat (26 years old) – alpine skiing
- Timothy Loubineau (28) – speed skating
Joining the French National Police Team represents much more than just a sporting and financial opportunity for these athletes. It allows them to forge lasting bonds with other professional sportspeople, often from different backgrounds and walks of life. It is an enriching experience at all levels. It is this plurality of benefits – both sporting and personal – that sometimes leads to great successes and deep friendships.
For example, the surfer and policeman Kauli Vaast (22) won a gold medal on 5 August at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It was an emotional experience that he shared with one of his best friends: the surfer and member of the national police team Vahine Fierro, who finished 9th in the Games.
“It’s incredible to experience the Olympic adventure together! We spent so much time doing heats, surfing, cheering each other on… Vahine motivated me when it was difficult, we are so close. Seeing the audience so happy makes me realise the magnitude of this victory. It’s a victory for everyone, for France, for Tahiti…‘, said Kauli.
It is above all for these kinds of experiences, both sporting and human, that these young French athletes join the ranks of the National Police. This creates a real enthusiasm for sport and also makes it possible to promote disciplines that are sometimes too neglected, in which it remains difficult to become professional and to live fully from one’s sporting passion. In the end, no fewer than 25 police officers took part in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic competitions, winning 10 medals ranging from bronze to gold. Eight of them made it to the podium.
“The diversity of the athletes we support is a real asset for the National Police Team and for the institution. The Paris 2024 Games were a tremendous vehicle for cohesion and pride for all our athletes, but also for our police officers. We can’t wait to cheer on our winter sportsmen and women at the various competitions that will take us to the Milan-Cortina Winter Games,” says Rachel Costard, General Commissioner and Head of the Sports Mission.
The sport of tomorrow: enhanced cooperation between athletes and public institutions
The future of sport and public institutions looks promising, with a growing commitment to high performance and accessibility for all.
There are many challenges: guaranteeing optimal support for top athletes while ensuring their retraining after their sporting career, promoting the inclusion of disciplines that receive less media coverage, and supporting the younger generations in their journey. Sport must therefore be seen as a vector for social cohesion, equal opportunities and education through collaborative projects between public institutions and players in the world of sport.
On the eve of major upcoming events, such as Milan-Cortina 2026 and the Winter Olympics in 2030 and beyond, the future of sport is being written in a context of enhanced cooperation between athletes, federations and public institutions. The next few years will be decisive in defining the role of sport in our society and in building a future in which every athlete can fully develop a career in their sport and earn an income from it, benefiting from loyal and lasting support, while embodying the values of responsible and committed sport.
