Between onlookers and tourists, Marine Lefeuvre slaloms with ease through Paris, police jacket on her shoulders. “Usually, I wear shorts on resin slopes, where I can reach 50 km/h,” laughs the speed skating vice-world champion, blonde locks blowing in the wind. His blue, white, red skates – custom-molded – contrast with the formal equipment of the three officers who accompany him. “No speed record for today,” teases Brigadier Sébastien Galtier, also perched on wheels.
At the beginning of May, the 27-year-old young woman is immersed in the Louvre-Paris center territorial contact brigade (BTC). The only one in Europe to move on skates. “My discipline will not be on the program for the 2024 Olympics, so I mentioned my desire to join the roller skating brigade this summer,” recalls Marine Lefeuvre between two strides. The Games remain for me the most beautiful sporting event. I really want to be associated with it in one way or another. »
Playing the Olympics with the police, the rapprochement may seem strange. But for the young woman, who has benefited from the national police’s support program for high-level athletes since 2023, the association seems natural: “I am a reservist, I have good skills in roller skating, why not take advantage of it ? “, she recalls. To be part of it, however, he will have to wait for the green light from his hierarchy.
Secure tourist places
This summer, the BTC will participate in securing the Olympic Games “in its usual areas of intervention which are the Louvre, the Tuileries, the City Hall”, details the central commissioner of the 1st arrondissement of Paris, Marc Cherrey. For the European champion, it is therefore time to adapt. Rolling: the matter is under control. Daughter and granddaughter of enthusiasts, she has been training since the age of 3 in a discipline halfway between speed skating and track cycling. A thousand miles from securing tourist sites, preventing delinquency and intervening in police rescue operations.
“In the police, rollerblading has two advantages: it allows us to move quickly in busy areas. And this makes us visible and accessible,” recalls Brigadier-Chief Galtier, who offers some advice to the newbie.
As soon as it enters the Enfants-Rouges market, in the 3rd arrondissement, a group of British tourists calls the unit for information. A little later, Japanese visitors approached him for a photo in front of the Louvre.
“You should also know about photo requests,” slips a police officer. Marine Lefeuvre responds with a pout: except in Colombia, “where the [speed skating] champions look like rock stars,” the discipline remains confidential. Training conditions are precarious, one of the two French centers has just closed and sponsors are rare. And its sport will not be able to benefit from the famous “JO effect”.
“She already has the technique and the cardio to evolve alongside us on patrol, it’s good because it’s physical to go down stairs on rollerblades and skate eight hours a day,” notes Mr. Galtier. On the other hand, the question arises for more complex interventions, where the risk of injury is not zero. » Especially since the young woman must compete in the European Games in September. “But I hope that the conditions will be met to be able to join the brigade this summer,” concludes the champion. And thus participate in the Games under another blue jersey.