Conflicts between sport and gymnastics in France: the creation of a national method of physical education between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

Introduction: between the final decades of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th, an obsession inhabited the world of gymnastics: the creation of national methods of physical education. In many cases, the creation of these national methods presented axiological, technical and above all scientific bases that were clearly distinguished from those of sport. Objective: to analyze the creation of a national method of physical education in France from the oppositions historically constructed between gymnastics and sport. Method: the historical sources of the research are the writings of French debaters of sport and gymnastics, as well as personalities in gymnastics who dedicated themselves to creating and debating methods of physical education in France. The analyzes are based on a classification system that distinguishes between a “right mystic” and a “left mystic” to define the oppositions built up over time between gymnastics and sport. Conclusion: while the defense of sport was anchored in a “mystic of right” in France, the defense of gymnastics was anchored in a “mystic of left”. The sport was almost always excluded or combated in the processes that led to the creation of the French national method of physical education.