During a visit to Strasbourg on 2 October, Thierry Braillard, France’s State Secretary of Sport, signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions.

“France has always been at the forefront of the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions and hopes that this convention will pave the way for better co-operation between countries in combating abuses in sport,” said Mr Braillard.

The Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, meanwhile, referred to the close links that exist between sport, human rights and democracy.

In the course of their meeting, Mr Braillard and Ms Battaini-Dragoni discussed how to promote the signing and ratification of this instrument by national governments, at forthcoming major sports events.

Mr Braillard also met with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Anne Brasseur, former Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sport of Luxembourg.

France has thus become one of the first countries to sign the convention alongside Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Switzerland.

France and the Council of Europe