1936 On the Continent

programme of tennis attended by a large number of English and American visitors—not to speak of the players!
Athletics
    French athletics has been going through a period of acute crisis since the Ladoumégue affair. You will probably remember that Ladoumégue, the greatest runner in France—perhaps even in the world—was disqualified by the French Federation for failing to keep to the rules of amateurship. The lack of great champions and even the boycotting of official events by the public has taken away practically the whole attraction of this branch of sport in France, and it has become pretty well impossible to organise any really big championships.
    However, there are a dozen or so stadiums in Paris and its suburbs with more or less up-to-date equipment, and if you want to train yourself, you have only to join one of the men’s or women’s clubs and you will be able to work at any sport you like under the supervision of competent trainers. Among the women’s clubs, I would particularly recommend the Elizabeth stadium; at Montrouge, and for the men, again the Racing Club at Colombes, the Jean Bouin Stadium at the Porte d’Auteuil or the Pershing stadium at Vincennes.
    Although France has such an immense coast-line, swimming is still the “poor relation” of French sports. Despite the French swimmer Taris, who counts among the best swimmers in the world, swimming events are fairly rare in France, and Paris has perhaps less swimming baths than any other capital in Europe.
    In recent years the gap has been filled to a certain extent by the opening of some new pools, such as the Pontoise (Rue de Pontoise) and the Lutetia (at Sèvres).
    Among the older swimming pools, the Molitor at the Porte d’Auteuil is the smartest, and the Tourelles, at the Porte de Lilas, the biggest and cheapest.
Winter Sports
    Thanks to the energy of the young American manager and organiser, Jeff Dickson, and the modernisation of thePalais des Sports at Grenelle, winter sports, particularly ice-hockey and skating, have gone ahead very fast in Paris.
    You can still skate at the old Palais des Glaces in the Champs Elysées, which used to be one of the world’s marvels at the end of the nineteenth century, or in winter you can go to the Molitor swimming pool.
    The Palais des Sports, mentioned above, is the temple of Parisian boxing, and has already seen many world championships and international fights.
    A more popular ring, and more picturesque too, is the Central (57 Faubourg Saint-Dénis), which is, as it were, the antechamber to pugilistic glory, where the young provincial fighters show what they are worth before going on to bigger matches at the Palais des Sports. The boxing at the Central has therefore kept all its liveliness and enthusiasm and the public goes into a wild ecstasy of cheering, hissing and whistling, even at times going to the pitch of driving boxers, referees and managers out of the ring.
    A visit to the Central on a Thursday evening or Sunday afternoon is absolutely essential if you really want to know Paris. It isn’t on the list of entertainments usually given to tourists, but you will never forget that high-pressure atmosphere if you do go there.
    Rightly enough, cycling is considered to be the national sport in France. France has no less than four million young men who go in for cycling as a sport. In the circumstances, it is not surprising that the biggest road cycling event in the world is held in France: the Tour de France.
    The Tour de France is reserved to professional racers, and every year lasts at least a month, covering a distance of some 3,500 miles across the whole of France. Organised by the newspaper
L’Auto
, which makes annually several million francs out of it, it is gradually losing its sporting character and becoming an immense spectacle advertising the various makes of cycles and their accessories.
    The big racing tracks in Paris are the Palais des Sports, the Buffalo and the Parc des Princes.
    The Paris automobile track is about 15 miles outside Paris through the Porte d’Orleans, at Linas-Montlhéry, and, thanks to its excellent construction and surface, a large number of world records in motor and motor-cycle racing have been beaten there.
    Since the War, golf has become far more widely played in France, though it has not attained the popularity it has in England.
    The best golf courses are probably those of the American Golf Club at Ozoir-la-Ferriére (Seine-et-Marne), the Chantilly