In Champigny-sur-Marne, at Clarisse Agbégnénou's judo club, the high-level section is threatened with closure.

With a record longevity, eight Olympic medals—including three titles (2000, 2016, 2021)—and a myriad of European and world titles, it has become a key player in the French judo landscape. It? The high-level section of the Red Star Club Champigny Judo (Val-de-Marne). A structure founded nearly thirty years ago, with the avant-garde idea of ​​establishing optimal training conditions for women.

Séverine Vandenhende, Olympic champion in Sydney (Australia) in 2000, Emilie Andéol, crowned in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2016, Clarisse Agbégnénou, crowned in Tokyo in 2021 and bronze medalist in Paris in 2024, and Amandine Buchard, Olympic vice-champion in the French capital last year, have each come to fill her trophy cabinet. However, although the "RSCC Girls" journey resembles a success story, it is now under threat.

Indeed, the section's finances are in the red: " Our structure is short 100,000 euros to finish this sporting year ," the club explains in a press release . Private sponsors who had committed to supporting us after the Paris Olympic Games have not renewed their support. Others, themselves facing economic difficulties, have withdrawn in recent weeks ." The high-level unit is also suffering the full force of the reduction in the state sports budget and the reduction in support from local authorities .

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