Sport and social inclusion : the political position vs. Practices

International audienceThe use and efficiency of sport for social inclusion seem to be unanimously accepted evidence in political speeches despite the lack of empirical results in the field. This paper wishes to qualify this one-dimensional preconception. Through a wide-rang- ing survey led within the French Ministry of Justice regarding the use of sport for social inclusion of young delinquents, this study shows that sport can indeed be an effective tool with a certain public, but only when specific material and human conditions are present, and consequently, that its efficiency in this regard is not relevant in most other cases. The results are based on a quantitative and qualitative survey led with 300 centres attached to the French Juvenile Justice System and 26 interviews with educators and directors at- tached to these centres. Our conclusions aim at improving the efficiency of public policies with regard to sports by helping the influencers to make optimal use of sport in view of social inclusion and reintegration