Bordeaux et les politiques d’équipement sportif durant l’Occupation (1940-1944) : des enjeux idéologiques aux contingences locales

Abstract

Physical and sports activities have made up a major component of the national recovery project as devised by the Vichy government during the German occupation (1940–1944). So far, only a few surveys have addressed that topic and only in general perspectives. Through problems specifically tied to nation-wide sports equipment, the following article shows how those authoritative and normative policies could generate adherence and/or resistance at the peripheral level. The case of the city of Bordeaux gives an insight into how, on the spot, faraway from the central authority, the different operators could appropriate, and sometimes misappropriate the central political and ideological message, reshaping the requirements of such message by yardstick of their own concerns and local priorities.