Rama Yade: "Armstrong N'est Pas Illégitime. Translation For Y'all Yanks: Lance Armstrong Is Innocent Until Proven Guilty"

The French Secretary of State for Sport and moderate-conservative is holding fort in Monaco, where the first leg of the Tour de France started, and did an interview about her new job (you may recall that she was previously French Secretary of State for Human Rights) and the Tour de France (interview in French). This is Secretary Yade's first time attending the Tour. Excerpts from the interview:

What does the Tour represent to you? "The Tour, it's a world festival, a monument of international sport and it belongs to the French inheritance. People impatiently await it. All those who follow it wait the moment when this sporting exploit will occur. And this year, the stages [of the race] allow suspense until the end. Even if there is Lance Armstrong, the true attraction, one should not forget the others."

What are your memories of the Tour de France? "I was high up in the suburban housing projects and we didn't have the means of going [to the Tour] to follow the stages. We thus awaited their arrival on the Champs-Élysées [the street where the Tour's last stage is traditionally held] to see the Tour. We were motivated by the celebration than by the cyclists themselves. Cycling is one of these sports which is difficult for all to access."

Is this an aspect [of the Tour] which you would wish to make evolve/reform within the framework of your job function? "There is an inequality in the sport which is related to access. Today, we see more immigrants having success in soccer or in track & field. They bring back trophies, medals for France in these sports, it is easier to practice. We see them less in cycling or horsemanship. It is inevitably a question of means. It would be interesting to think of the creation of more access to these sports for suburban young people. We are thus defining our priorities of action that I would not say any, for the moment, more."

On her favorite cyclist, as well as Lance Armstrong: While Alberto Contador of Spain - the Tour's winner in 2007 -is her favorite pro cyclist (um, Rama, shouldn't you have said a French cyclist?), she is also asked about Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist who won a record seven consecutive Tour de France championships but is making his first appearance in four years: “I am admiring. He is an exceptional champion. He overcame cancer. There are doping suspicions, particularly in 1999. It is with him to show on this Tour that he is clean. The course will do the remainder. It is not illegitimate that he is there. He is a man who should be respected because it is necessary to respect the presumption of innocence”.

Her interview got a French blogger over at Le Post upset (article in French). Birenbaum first takes issue with Secretary Yade's comments about Tour de France remaining French, since it starts in Monaco. However, it is her remarks about Mr. Armstrong which set him off: "I do not want to be discourteous towards Ms. Yade, nor to evoke a relative naivety, probably related to his stature - assumed - of a neophyte as regards cycling. But, frankly, to call upon, with such language, the “presumption of innocence” about Lance Armstrong, is really not an good idea." He adds that "everyone" knows that the Tour de France is "rotted with doping".

Booker Rising response: Now, personally, I believe that Mr. Armstrong has had, ahem, help....but I believe that's the case for the overwhelming majority of the cyclists on the Tour. Think them French cyclists are clean? LOL The French are hating because Mr. Armstrong has (allegedly) outdoped them on their own soil. I see Birenbaum had no comment about Mr. Contador, whose entire team withdrew en masse from the 2006 Tour before it started because anti-doping authorities were hot on their trail. On a related note, these great athletes just don't know when to stay retired. Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, etc.