Paralympic athlete Arthur Bauchet, bib No. 20, with his supporters during the 2025 – 2026 FIS Para Alpine Ski World Cup in Tignes (Savoie), on February 4, 2026. CONNOR OWENS/ACTIONPRESS VIA ICON SPORT
Like the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) set high ambitions for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, whose opening ceremony is taking place on Friday, March 6, in the Verona Arena. Four years earlier, in Beijing, the French team won 12 medals, including seven gold, finishing fourth in the nation's ranking behind the host country, Ukraine and Canada.
In Italy, the French team aims to match or even surpass that achievement. "The goal is to get at least 18 medals, including seven titles," explained Jean Minier, CPSF sports director and deputy head of the delegation. "This objective is based on our athletes' results in recent competitions, and it would allow us to maintain fourth place."
However, this ambition could be thwarted by the return of Russia and Belarus. Athletes from these countries had been excluded from the previous Paralympic Games after Russian troops, with Belarus' support, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The six Russian and four Belarusian athletes competing in Italy are this time participating under their national flags, with their anthems and symbols.
