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Two thirds of men and half the women in France say they take part in a sporting activity and nearly a quarter of the French now belong to sports federations, three times more than in 1970. This enthusiasm for sport is mirrored by France's performance in international sporting events. By wining a total of 38 medals, 13 of which were gold, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, the French showed their continuing progress in top-level competitive sport.

National and international championships in the most popular sports, such as football, rugby, cycling and tennis, draw huge crowds and record television and radio audiences. The Tour de France cycle race is a genuinely national event and its popularity, which has now spread beyond France's borders, has taken on a European dimension.

France has also organised some prestigious international sporting events, such as the Winter Olympics (Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992) and the 1998 Soccer World Cup, in which France won the world championship. With a 3-0 win against Brazil, France became world champion for the first time in its history. The victory of the "Bleus" (the French team's nickname) was celebrated throughout the country with immense jubilation.

As well as these popular sports, the French can engage in every kind of sporting activity: France's geography and climate provide a wealth of opportunities for water and winter sports. In some fields, such as sailing, judo, fencing and motor-racing, the French are among the best in the world.

The Euro 2004 tournament took place in Portugal. As defending champions, France dominated in the qualifying rounds, during which it found itself in a tough group B consisting of England, Croatia and Switzerland. During the group stage France went undefeated to reach the quarter-finals. The highlight of the group stage came from the highly touted match between France and England. England carried a 1-0 lead up until the dying minutes of the game, when French captain Zinedine Zidane slotted home a breathtaking free-kick and minutes later converted a penalty-kick to lead ‘les Bleus’ to a 2-1 victory. However, aspirations of a Euro championship repeat were quashed in the quarter-finals when France was upset by Greece, the eventual Euro 2004 champions. This Euro tournament marked the last international competition to feature some of France's most experienced and beloved players, including Zidane, Lizarazu, Thuram and Desailly, all of whom announced their retirements soon afterwards.

On July 25, American Lance Armstrong became the first cyclist to win the grueling Tour de France six times—and in six straight years! Arguably the greatest test of endurance in the sporting world, the Tour de France is a daunting event, which took its participants across 3,390 km of France in 2004 (as well as parts of Belgium in the initial stages), and allowed them only 2 days of rest. Since the Tour's inception in 1903, only four riders have won the title five times, and only one, Spain's Miguel Indurain, managed to do so in succession. Following the race, attended by record crowds cheering him on, a French military band played “The Star Spangled Banner” to honor Armstrong’s victory. Lance also received a phone call from President Bush congratulating him for his remarkable feat.

Also earning awards in the Tour were Australia's Robbie McEwen (who secured the green jersey, for best overall sprinter), and France's Richard Virenque (crowned, for a record seventh time, "King of the Mountains," the Tour's best climber). The second and third cyclists in the Tour’s “Best Young Riders” rankings, Sandy Casar and Thomas Voeckler, also hail from France.

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