Following a record medal haul at last month's Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, France's para athletes are hoping to replicate this success when the Paralympic Games kick off on Friday.
More than 600 para athletes will compete at the Games across six sports – para alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para ice hockey, para snowboard and wheelchair curling – between 6 and 15 March.
Events in the wheelchair curling begin on Friday at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium ahead of the opening ceremony at the Verona Arena, with the main competition opening on 7 March.
French para athletes will be aiming to build on their successes at Beijing 2022, where the team won seven golds among a haul of 12 medals.
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Medal hopes
In terms of French hopes in Milano-Cortina, para alpine skier Arthur Bauchet, dubbed "King Arthur" by French media, is expected to flourish.
In 2018 at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the then 17-year-old claimed silvers in the LW3 slalom, the LW3 downhill, LW3 Super G and LW3 super combined.
Four years later in Beijing, he upgraded to gold in the slalom, super combined and downhill. He also won bronze in the giant slalom.
"It's a great pride to be picked once against to represent my country at the biggest sporting event on the planet," Bauchet posted on social media, after his selection for his third Winter Paralympic Games was confirmed last month.
Benjamin Daviet (Nordic para-skiing), Cécile Hernandez (para-snowboarding) and Maxime Montaggioni (para-snowboarding) are also out to retain their titles.
Among the newcomers, Aurélie Richard is another strong medal hopeful. The 20-year-old para alpine skier won two world championship silver medals in downhill and slalom and a Crystal Globe – awarded by the International Ski Federation to the overall champion of the Para Alpine Skiing World Cup season – in 2023.
Despite injury she managed to finish third in the overall World Cup standings in 2025, having won gold in the giant slalom and Super-G standing events at the 2025 World University Winter Games.
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'The strength of the team'
Bauchet and Richard will be part of a French delegation of 17, including four guides, at the Games.
"It's time for the performances, thrills and spectacle that these exceptional athletes will offer us," said French Paralympic committee chief Marie-Amélie Le Fur.
"I would also like to extend my congratulations to all the coaches, staff and managers who support the athletes on a daily basis."
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Para skiing legend Marie Bochet, owner of eight Paralympic gold medals, will oversee the French delegation.
"Everyone will give their best," said the 32-year-old, who retired in 2024. "But we know that at the Games, it is the strength of the team that makes the difference."
She added: "The momentum of our French team is firmly established. As chef de mission, I now have only one desire: to see our para athletes perform at their best and to hear the Marseillaise ring out."
