France

===Sports===
{{Main|Sport in France}}
[[File:2020 Tour de France, 2nd stage, before km zero.jpg|thumb|alt=The peloton in the streets of Nice during the 2nd stage of the Tour de France on 30 August 2020|Starting in 1903, the [[Tour de France]] is the most prestigious of [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grands Tours]], and the world's most famous cycling race.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Union Cycliste Internationale |url=http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114060844/http://www.uciprotour.com/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTcxNw&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34028&LangId=1 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref>]]

France hosts "the world's biggest annual sporting event", the [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2019 |title=Tour De France 2019: Everything you need to know |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/18769169 |access-date=15 July 2019 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> Other popular sports played in France include: [[Association football|football]], [[judo]], [[tennis]],<ref>{{In lang|fr}} [http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?ref_id=NATTEF05401&reg_id=0 Les licences sportives en France]&nbsp;– Insee</ref> [[rugby union]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=All you need to know about sport in France |url=http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610041323/http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[pétanque]]. France has hosted events such as the [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]] and [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the World Cup Final Draw |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226235749/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2008 |access-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> the [[2007 Rugby World Cup]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110606170717/http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2003_april/france_wins_right_to_host_the_2007_rugby_wor_15381%2C3851.html France wins right to host the 2007 rugby world cup]. Associated Press. 11 April 2003</ref> and the [[2023 Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Luke |last2=Symons |first2=Harvey |last3=Amani |first3=Julian |date=2023-09-06 |title=Everything you need to know about the 2023 Rugby World Cup |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/06/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-rugby-world-cup |access-date=2024-01-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The country also hosted the [[1960 European Nations' Cup]], [[UEFA Euro 1984]], [[UEFA Euro 2016]] and [[2019 FIFA Women's World Cup]]. The [[Stade de France]] in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]] is France's largest stadium and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup finals. Since 1923, France is famous for its [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] [[sports car racing|sports car]] [[endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance race]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Une course légendaire |url=http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24h/histoire.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116131353/http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24h/histoire.html |archive-date=16 January 2013 |language=fr}}&nbsp;– [http://www.lemans.org Site officiel du 24 heures du Mans]</ref> Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the [[Paris Masters]] and the [[French Open]], one of the four [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournaments. French [[martial arts]] include [[Savate]] and [[Fencing]].
[[File:Zinedine Zidane 2015 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Zinedine Zidane|Zidane]] is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time]]

France has a close association with the Modern Olympic Games; it was a French aristocrat, Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]], who suggested the Games' revival, at the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Christopher R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o-9AAAAIAAJ |title=Olympic Politics |publisher=Manchester University Press ND |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7190-4451-9 |page=5 |access-date=5 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Olympic">[http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/olympic.htm Olympic History]&nbsp;– World Atlas of Travel</ref> After [[Athens]] was awarded the first Games, in reference to the Olympics' Greek origins, Paris hosted the second Games [[1900 Summer Olympics|in 1900]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 August 2018 |title=Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. Official Site of the Olympic Movement |url=http://www.olympic.org/paris-1900-summer-olympics |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> Paris was the first home of the [[International Olympic Committee]], before it moved to [[Lausanne]].<ref>[http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/view.asp?DomID=63416&Language=E Lausanne, olympic capital]&nbsp;– Tourism in Lausanne {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006220349/http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/view.asp?DomID=63416&Language=E|date=6 October 2007}}</ref> Since 1900, France has hosted the Olympics on 4 further occasions: the [[1924 Summer Olympics]], again in Paris<ref name="Olympic" /> and three [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Games]] ([[1924 Winter Olympics|1924]] in [[Chamonix]], [[1968 Winter Olympics|1968]] in [[Grenoble]] and [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]] in [[Albertville]]).<ref name="Olympic" /> Similar to the Olympics, France introduced Olympics for the deaf people (Deaflympics) in [[1924 Summer Deaflympics|1924]] with the idea of a French deaf car mechanic, [[Eugène Rubens-Alcais]] who paved the way to organise the inaugural edition of the [[Summer Deaflympics]] in Paris.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 December 2004 |title=Deaflympics lowdown |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/4113957.stm |access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

Both the [[France national football team|national football team]] and the [[France national rugby union team|national rugby union team]] are nicknamed "''Les Bleus''" in reference to the team's shirt colour as well as the national [[Flag of France|French tricolour flag]]. Football is the most popular sport in France, with over 1,800,000 registered players and over 18,000 registered clubs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fédération Française de Football |url=https://www.fff.fr/ |website=fff.fr}}</ref>

The French Open, also called Roland-Garros, is a major [[tennis]] tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the [[Stade Roland Garros|Stade Roland-Garros]] in Paris. It is the premier clay court tennis championship event in the world and the second of four annual [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournaments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clarey |first=Christopher |date=30 June 2001 |title=Change Seems Essential to Escape Extinction: Wimbledon: World's Most Loved Dinosaur |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/06/30/a20_16.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016123550/http://iht.com/articles/2001/06/30/a20_16.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=26 February 2018 |website=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}</ref>

[[Rugby union]] is popular, particularly in Paris and the southwest of France.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090615002946/http://www.123voyage.com/realsw/tosee/rugby.htm Rugby]. 123 Voyage</ref> The national rugby union team has competed at every [[Rugby World Cup]]; it takes part in the annual [[Six Nations Championship]].