The Tour de France and the Eiffel Tower “, according to Jean Viard

From the advertising caravan to the race, including the landscapes and the valuation of the heritage, the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday in Lille, represents a “big party, a festive ribbon deploying on the territory”, estimates the sociologist Jean Viard.

The 112nd Tour de France starts on Saturday July 5 from Lille. An event “Festive” et “free” Recalls sociologist Jean Viard. The popularity of the big loop is, according to him, linked to the valuation of the effort, but also to the way in which television broadcasts this spectacle by magnifying France. The event, which will again bring together more than 10 million French people on the roads and 40 million viewers, according to the figures unveiled by France Télévisions,“Vailled by what is most beautiful”, estimates the sociologist.

Franceinfo: How to explain such popularity for a bicycle race?

Jean Viard:I used to say that there are two symbols in France: the Tour de France and the Eiffel Tower. There are some who is a bit horizontally, which runs through the soil, the nation, and another which is high and which symbolizes the power of industry. I put both in the same category. In my childhood, among the runners of the Tour de France, there were still minors and people who came from the mountains. They were really people whose physical strength was linked, basically, to their profession. Now, we are dealing with very great hyperent -armed athletes, a bit like football. They are now absolutely powerful athletes. There is a dimension of effort, work, will. These are extraordinary efforts. I like from time to time to value work, effort and success.

The Tour de France is a free event for spectators, which can also explain this craze?

Of course, it's a free event, it's also festive along the road, between people. There are not only cyclists, there are, as you said, 10 million spectators. These spectators talk to each other, they joke between them, they drink a blow, they try to catch a ball (from the advertising caravan). It's a big party. In fact, it is a kind of festive ribbon that unfolds on the territory. I think the motorhome has strengthened this aspect. There are almost professionals from the Tour de France, who come to all stages, who know the right corners, etc. Finally, there is the helicopter that also follows the race and which basically offers us a magnificent spectacle. Viewers around the world see France, its castles, its mountains, its rivers. It is a magnified France because we remove what is not pretty. This strengthens the national image of the territory and values ​​it by what is most beautiful.

Would you say that the Tour has evolved with society or is it always immutable in its ritual?

I find it fundamentally immutable. Of course there have been technical developments, especially those of bikes. We are no longer at the time of cyclists who were going to have their bicycle repaired in the Marshal-Ferrant. We also had a period of drugs, doping, which obscured the show, but it remains the same adventure. I think that's what's beautiful. Through all technical developments, it remains the same thing. They are men in combat to win a race. Obviously, they have atria, they have racing directors who help them in their strategy, but on the merits, it is still the pedal stroke that makes the difference.