Between lex Olympica and lex publica: National Sports Agencies in France and Germany compared

While Germany is striving for the creation of a national agency entrusted with the financing of sports, that of France has already been operating for seven years. The proposed German agency is compared with the extant French agency by drawing on the concept of lex Olympica as opposed to lex publica. In the framework of a comparative analysis of policy and regulation, this article contrasts the historical and legal background of the two national cases; the relationship between state and sport; modes of organisation, regulation and financing; and prospects for measuring performance. Using a mixed legal and economic methodology, the article proposes a combined analysis of the two cases to make inferences about the relationship between lex Olympica as opposed to lex publica.