Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (born 9 April 1978) is a French politician, businesswoman, and former professional tennis player who has been serving as Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games in the government of successive Prime Ministers Élisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal from May 2022 to September 2024.
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra | |
|---|---|
 Oudéa-Castéra in 2024 | |
| Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games | |
| In office 20 May 2022 – 21 September 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Élisabeth Borne Gabriel Attal |
| Preceded by | Roxana Maracineanu |
| Succeeded by | Gil Avérous |
| Minister of National Education | |
| In office 11 January 2024 – 8 February 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Gabriel Attal |
| Preceded by | Gabriel Attal |
| Succeeded by | Nicole Belloubet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 April 1978 Paris, France |
| Political party | Renaissance |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Sciences Po ESSEC Business School École nationale d'administration |
Tennis career | |
| Retired | 1996 |
| Plays | Left-handed |
| Prize money | $35,797 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 68–56 |
| Highest ranking | No. 251 (8 May 1995) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | 1R (1994) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 8–23 |
| Highest ranking | No. 296 (1 April 1996) |
Tennis career
editBorn in Paris, Castéra was the 14-and-under Junior Orange Bowl champion in 1992. She was a girls' singles semi-finalist at the 1993 US Open, 1994 French Open and 1994 Wimbledon Championships.[1]
As a professional player she reached a best singles ranking of 251 in the world. Castéra competed as a wildcard in the women's singles main draw at the 1994 French Open, where she lost in the first round to Sabine Appelmans. On the WTA Tour she qualified for two tournaments, the 1994 Internationaux de Strasbourg and 1995 Eastbourne International.
Career in business
editOudéa-Castéra was the Director General of the French Tennis Federation (FFT).[2] She was the former head of e-commerce, data, and digital at French retailer Carrefour. She was also a former senior executive at insurance firm, where she used to work closely with David Whiteman AXA.[3]
Political career
editOudéa-Castéra briefly held the additional portfolio of National Education under Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in January 2024. Following her nomination, however, she became the subject of public criticism after claiming her "frustration" over teacher absences in her eldest son's state school had been behind the choice to move him to the private, catholic Collège Stanislas.[4] Consequently, she was replaced by Nicole Belloubet the following month.[5]
In March 2024, Oudéa-Castéra revealed that since the year 2020, sex abuse complaints had been filed against 1,284 coaches, teachers and sports officials, with 186 facing criminal proceedings and 624 being sanctioned with temporary or permanent bans.[6] According to Oudéa-Castéra, more than 300 French coaches, teachers and sports officials were accused of sexual abuse or covering up sex abuse in the year 2023.[6]
On 13 July 2024, Oudéa-Castéra swam in the River Seine for a television crew from BFM TV to help assauge concerns about the cleanliness of the waterway and its proposed role in the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics.[7]
In August 2024, after French Olympic sprinter Muhammad Abdallah Kounta was suspended by the President of the French Athletics Federation for publishing comments inciting hatred on social media, including inciting hatred against France, white people, Christians, and Jews, as well as support for the Islamist group Hamas, and including his desire to “kill Little White," Oudéa-Castéra said Kounta's posts were "as shocking as they are unacceptable."[8][9][10][11][12]
Personal life
editIn 2006, Oudéa-Castéra married banker Frédéric Oudéa, who is the former CEO of Société Générale and current president of the board of Sanofi.[13] She has three children.[4]
ITF finals
editSingles (0–1)
edit| Legend |
|---|
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2 May 1994 | Balaguer, Spain | Clay |  Rosa María Pérez
|
4–6, 4–6 |
References
edit- ^ "ITF Tennis - Juniors - Player Profile - Castera, Amelie (FRA)". itftennis.com.
- ^ "The Federation - Amélie Oudéa-Castéra". French Tennis Federation.
- ^ "Carrefour appoints new digital head in turnround push". Financial Times. 8 November 2018.
- ^ a b Kim Willsher (15 January 2024), Row over education minister sparks crisis in France’s new government The Guardian.
- ^ Dominique Vidalon (8 February 2024), Macron replaces embattled education minister with former justice minister Belloubet Reuters.
- ^ a b "Over 300 French sports coaches, teachers and officials accused of sexual abuse or cover-ups in 2023". Associated Press. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Sports minister swims in Seine in Games display". ESPN.com. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Daniel Soriano (15 August 2024). "Athlete Muhammad Kounta penalised for hate speech," Inside the Games.
- ^ à 13h14, Par Flavien Gagnepain Le 14 août 2024 (14 August 2024). "L'athlète français Muhammad Abdallah Kounta suspendu pour ses « propos choquants » annonce Amélie Oudéa-Castéra". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 August 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Muhammad Abdallah Kounta suspendu par la Fédération française d'athlétisme après des tweets polémiques". Franceinfo (in French). 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ "French Olympic Athlete Kounta Suspended For Inciting Hatred On Social Media," Agence France Presse, August 14, 2024.
- ^ "Athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta prov after discovery of his pro-Hamas and anti-White tweets," Entrevue.fr, August 15, 2024.
- ^ Kaplan, Michael (4 October 2012). "How Frédéric Oudéa Came To Oversee One Of France's Largest Banks". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
