Olympic Games Legacy: The CMA CGM Foundation and the association Le Grand Bleu commit to teaching swimming and introducing the sea to young people in Marseille

A few days before the launch of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Tanya Saadé Zeenny, President of the CMA CGM Foundation, and Brahim Timricht, Founder and Director of the association Le Grand Bleu, announced yersterday from the Corbières nautical base, the launch of a partnership between the two organizations.

This visit was attended by Baptiste Rolland, the Prefect Delegate for Equal Opportunities, and the Prefecture of the Bouches-du-Rhône , whicih also supports Le Grand Bleu, Ahmed Heddadi, Deputy Mayor of Marseille in charge of social cohesion, community life, social centers, senior citizens, and urban activities, and Hedi Ramdane, Deputy Mayor of Marseille in charge of youth.

The commitment of the CMA CGM Foundation and Le Grand Bleu will enable 2,000 children and adolescents to learn to swim and enjoy water activities. These young people, who come from priority neighborhoods in Marseille, will be welcomed at the Corbières nautical base in L'Estaque to discover activities such as canoeing, kayaking, and water hiking.

This new partnership will also allow the training of 115 young people to become swimming instructors.

Together, the two organizations reaffirmed their commitment and determination to give children and young people from all backgrounds access to sports and nautical activities.

Tanya Saadé Zeenny, President of the CMA CGM Foundation: "As the official logistics solutions partner of Paris 2024, we wanted to go further and leave a legacy of the Olympic Games in the Marseille region. We are helping to ensure that young people from all backgrounds in Marseille have access to sports that teach them essential values. We have entered into this partnership in order to reinforce Le Grand Bleu’s actions, bring young people closer to the sea, and promote swimming education."

Brahim Timricht, Founder and Director of the association Le Grand Bleu: "The support of the CMA CGM Foundation is a great opportunity for Le Grand Bleu to continue providing access to swimming lessons, nautical activities, and water-related careers to a greater number of young people from priority neighborhoods. We are delighted to count on this partnership to continue raising awareness of these crucial themes in Marseille."

A sports and social project contributing to the Olympic Games Legacy for young people in Marseille

By promoting access to sports and marine discovery activities, the CMA CGM Foundation is actively contributing to the legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, for which the CMA CGM Group is the official logistics solutions partner. Committed to youth and sport, theFoundation recently implemented several initiatives in Marseille:

• Renovation of several city stadiums in partnership with the OM Foundation, the National Sports Agency, and the City of Marseille. The first of these, the La Major Stadium, was inaugurated in 2023.
• Renovation of a sports field on the La Reynarde site, managed by the Provence medico-social association, which hosts children entrusted to child welfare services.
• Implementation of a "marine discovery" program in Frioul for 800 children and young people from social centers in Marseille, with the Fédération Léo Lagrange Méditerranée.
• Support, for the past 4 years, of the "A Step Towards the Sea" program, which allows 150 children each summer to participate in a swimming education program developed by the association Marseille Capitale de la Mer.