Niamey, Niger, 12/19 - Beirut, the Lebanese capital, is to host the 6th Francophone Games in 2009, after the 5th edition ended late Saturday with a fan-fair in the Niger capital, Niamey. | Francophone Games would be Olympics for French speaking and formerly French ruled countries. |
A high-point of the closing ceremony was the handing over of the Games` flag to the Lebanese contingent by Niger Youth and Sports Minister Abdoulrahamane Seydou. In closing remarks, on behalf of the President of the International Committee of the Francophone Games, Jean François Lamour, who could not attend, Chadian Youth and Sports Minister, Oumar Boukar, commended the quality of the Games` organisation, saying "the people of Niger can legitimately be proud of the success."
Niger is first African country South of the Sahara to have hosted the Games, with some 3,000 artistes, athletes and officials from Francophone nations, including 44 African countries in attendance. Combining sports with culture, the event featured football, basketball, athletics, judo, table tennis, boxing, singing, painting, dancing, story-telling and poetry. | I'm thinking this sounds a lot like a political statement by the French government in support of Lebanon |
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