PARIS, Jan 8, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - President Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged

French people to start exercising daily as Paris prepares to host the Olympic
and Paralympic Games this summer.

Posting a video clip of himself on X, formerly Twitter, in a T-shirt, boxing
gloves slung over his shoulder and with a punching bag in the background, the
president urged his compatriots to work out 30 minutes a day, "and longer if
you can".

Sports is beneficial "for health and for lots of other things, and it's also
a way to make the Olympics part of our daily routine", Macron, 46, said.

With 200 days remaining before the Games kick off on July 26, Macron said the
government was promoting sports "as a great national cause" this year,
including by boosting physical education instruction in schools.

The president said he hoped France would win "many medals" at the Games, and
increasing numbers of amateurs would start working out.

Macron occasionally puts on boxing gloves in public and has been seen
sparring with professional coaches or with his bodyguards.

Analysing his skills, specialist YouTube channel Boxe Attitude last year
observed that "the president has a good jab, fast and energetic", "good
reflexes" and "doesn't give away the direction of a jab".

Despite a "certain stiffness", he manifestly "trains regularly", Boxe
Attitude said.

Officials in Macron's office said the government had already met the target
it set in 2017 to have three million more people exercising regularly, and
was now aiming for another three million by 2027.

The Paris Summer Olympics run to August 11 and the Paralympic Games from
August 28 to September 8.