CEV President attends ceremony at Élysée Palace, meets with French President Emmanuel Macron

Earlier this week, CEV President Roko Sikirić was among the dignitaries attending a special ceremony organised at the Élysée Palace in Paris where the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, conferred the Legion of Honour to the members of the men’s national team that claimed gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

“It was a truly special moment for me and for the whole Volleyball family,” recounts the CEV President. “Mr Macron did take his time to organise this reception and ceremony specifically for the members of the men’s Volleyball national team – thereby acknowledging their historic triumph and their services to sport. Mr Macron did also pay tribute to the leadership of the French Volleyball Federation and more specifically to their President Éric Tanguy, under whose tenure France has achieved continued and unprecedented success,” he adds. 

Last summer, France repeated on home soil their historic triumph from the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics – thereby emulating the former Soviet Union (1964 and 1968) and the United States (1984 and 1988) as the only country to secure back-to-back Olympic titles in men’s Volleyball. 

The date of this reception was no coincidence at all – as it did actually happen on July 7, the same day chosen by FIVB to celebrate World Volleyball Day, so the ceremony was even more poignant and emotional for all involved. 

The CEV President seized the opportunity to share with Mr Macron some insights into his work and close cooperation with the French Volleyball Federation and the plan to involve France, also through the Ministry of Sport, in joint projects designed to further elevate the profile of Volleyball across Europe. To this extent, the CEV and the French Volleyball Federation are currently collaborating to deliver this year’s CEV General Assembly, which is due to take place in Paris this coming November 8. 

Moreover, the CEV President could briefly recount the days he spent in France as a professional Volleyball player as well as his current status as the youngest ever President of a European sports organisation – something that Mr Macron could personally relate to, since back in 2017 he became the youngest president in French history at the age of 39. 

The day at the Élysée Palace provided a platform to meet with other high-profile authorities as well, such as the French Minister of Sports, Marie Barsacq, and the newly elected President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), Amélie Oudéa-Castera.