ÉTUDE COMPARATIVE DES PRATIQUES ET REPRÉSENTATIONS DU SPORT EN ROUMANIE ET EN FRANCE: LES CONSÉQUENCES D'UN HÉRITAGE POLITIQUE DIFFÉRENT.

Sports are less of a leisure activity in Romania than in France, even though the former has maintained an "Olympic elite" and its admission into Europe is leading to social and economic emancipation. Given this paradox, it is worthwhile comparing the practices and attitudes related to sports in these two countries. As a survey shows, the dimension associated with sports is "functional" in Romania but hedonistic in France. This situation, apparently a consequence of Romania's Communist past, when sports was an ideological tool for forming a nationalist spirit, impede current policies for developing recreational sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]