Tour de France given green light despite government ban on sporting events that ended Ligue 1 season

The French sports minister confirmed the Tour is set to go ahead despite Tuesday's announcement
AFP via Getty Images

The Tour de France is still set to go ahead this summer, despite the French government announcing a ban on major sporting events until September.

The Tour has already been pushed back from its original June start to August 29 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but looked under threat when the country’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe put the block on large sporting events.

His announcement on Tuesday has seen the French football season ended, with the remainder of fixtures in Ligue 1 and 2, as well as the French Cup, cancelled.

However, the sports minister Roxana Maracineanu moved to clarify the situation regarding cycling’s biggest race.

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“The Tour de France is not called being called into question,” she said. “There will be no large-scale events before September, but the Tour starting on August 29 could have some modifications.”

It seems certain that efforts will have to be made to reduce crowds during stages, particularly those such as the Grand Depart in Nice and the final stage in Paris which are expected to attract the biggest crowds.

However, even if a fully behind-closed-doors approach were taken – and that seems impractical, given the scale of the race – more than 4,000 personnel are typically involved, from security and organisational staff, to teams and riders.

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