Outcome of French elections good news for LGBT people and for LGBT athletes in particular

Yesterday's second round of presidential elections saw the victory of François Hollande over Nicolas Sarkozy.

For LGBT people in general this is good news, as Hollande is committed to full equality, while his opponent outgoing president Sarkozy remained firmly against marriage equality and rights for same-sex parents.

For LGBT sport, it's also good news. We recall Sarkozy's nomination of the homophobic and misogynistic judo champion David Douillet as minister of sports, whose chief of staff was so prompt to refuse official recognition for FGG member organization FSGL (even before the FSGL had actually applied for it!).

While the minister preceding Douillet, Chantal Jouanno, had been an advocate for the fight against homophobia in sport, her efforts had not been supported by Sarkozy, who was reported to have replied that there could not be homophobia in sport, because his good friend the president of a leading rugby club had chosen the color pink for the jerseys of his players.

During the campaign, Sarkozy received the support of highly paid professional athletes, fearful of higher tax rates on the extremly wealthy proposed by Hollande. In the meantime, Hollande's spokeswoman for sport, Valérie Fourneyron (seen here on the right), brought together a broad-based group of grassroot athletes to support a campaign focused on sport for all.

Hollande stated: "Sport is not a luxury; it's a necessity. Playing sport means savings for the healthcare system. We must offer people of all ages organized sports activities to promote well-being." "Sport will have a major role in my administration. First in the educational system with increased importance given to sports education.In addtion, we will focus on sports as a preventive measure, to fight against health risks including obesity and cardiovascular disease. Finally, with the launch of a partnership between the national government and local authorities, because they are the ones that invest the most in sport today. We want to ensure regularity in financing of sport and the increased particpiation of the private sector in providing sports facilities on a local level."

Hollande has also declared that in his administration, the minister for sport would be a senior minister, rather than a junior minister lower on the ladder of authority. A name being mentioned for this position is Valérie Fourneyron herself. She is eminently qualified, having worked all her life in sports medicine, often for national sports federations. She is gay friendly, as proven by her invitation to the FSGL to speak in locally in this month's program for the international day against homophobia. And a bonus for the Gay Games, she is the major of Rouen, the sister city of Cleveland, host of Gay Games 9 in 2014.

Much depends on the outcome of next month's legislative elections, but the prospects for LGBT sport are much brighter today than they were yesterday.