The highest governing body of sport in France is the Ministry of Sports, which oversees the various regional levels of government responsible for sport as well as the French National and Olympic Sports Committee (CNOSF). The Ministry of Sport is responsible for national sport policy, including the 2006 Code du Sport, a comprehensive law regulating the interactions of all relevant sports actors (e.g. universities, national sport federations, CNOSF, schools) within the centralized and state-oriented ecosystem of sport. All expenses combined, the annual funding for sport amounts to nearly €40b ($44.2B US), buoyed by public funding, a growing share of private spending, and specific funding for major sporting events.

The CNOSF is responsible for selecting and leading the French delegation at the Olympic Games and other competitions overseen by the IOC. The CNOSF is comprised of 106 Affiliated Federations and Associate Members, including the 36 National Olympic Sport Federations, 39 National Sport Federations, 14 Multisport Federations, 5 School and University Federations, and 12 Associate Members. The centerpiece of high-performance sport in France is the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance, an elite Olympic and Paralympic training center under the Ministry of Sports that provides health care, training, nutrition, research, and educational opportunities for athletes. In 2019, the National Agency of Sport (NAS) was launched to work with the National Sport Federations and athletes to improve the country’s position in the Olympic medal table. NAS will receive €284m ($312 million USD), with some of that (€90m) going to high-performance but the lion’s share going to sport-for-all and grassroots programs (€194m) and sport infrastructure (€129m).

The Ministries of Sport, Health, and Education work with municipal and regional governments to oversee youth sports. In preparation for Paris 2024, the Ministries of Sport and Health created the National Sport-Health Strategy (2019-2024) to promote physical and sports activities. The plan is designed to get more youth moving, especially those with greater barriers to sport, including women and girls and persons with disabilities. In 2022, the Ministry of National Education made a joint commitment with the Ministry of Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games to enable every primary school student at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity in addition to the compulsory physical education requirements.

Despite a national scandal in 2021 regarding more than 400 adults in sport involved in the abuse or cover-up of abuse of young athletes, it does not appear that France has a specific system for safeguarding in sport and relies on the French legal child protection system.