Faced with a sedentary lifestyle deemed a “health time bomb” by Stéphanie Rist, Minister of Health, the government wants to turn a corner. According to the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, 95% of adults present fragility linked to lack ofphysical activityfor a cost estimated by France Stratégie at 140 billion euros per year. To respond to this emergency, the 2026 school year opens with a new national meeting.
This month, the operation September Movelaunched by Marina Ferrari, Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life, wants to “put physical and sporting activity back at the heart of everyday life”. She summarizes her objective: “Put France back on the move”. This new “sport-health reflex month” is part of the National Sport-Health Strategy 2025-2030, with more than 4,000 free events announced throughout France. It remains to understand how to benefit from it very concretely.
How September Moves 2026 translates into action on the ground
Concretely, the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Community Life announces more than 4,000 meetings: initiation sessions, open days, walks, group courses, referenced on an interactive map. A national tour will pass through 18 cities, from Villeneuve-d’Ascq to Paris via Réunion and Guadeloupe, with completely free sports-health villages.
At each stage, these villages are structured around a “Move” space to practice, a “Connections” space to find an offer close to home and an “Awareness” space dedicated to exchanges with health professionals.
September Move towards the health cost of lack of physical activity
For the Ministry of Sports, September Move
tackles a massive public health issue. France Stratégie estimates that the lack of physical activity causes around 38,000 deaths and 62,000 preventable pathologies each year, for a social cost of 140 billion euros. The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety indicates that 73% of 11-17 year olds do not achieve the recommended 60 minutes per day. “The lack of physical activity has serious consequences on the health of our fellow citizens“, warns Marina Ferrari, who is also counting on 4 million beneficiaries for the 2026-2027 Sport Pass, aid of 50 euros reserved for households whose family quotient is less than 700 euros, with children aged 6 to 13 eligible again.
Sports-Health Ambassadors and Maisons, the sustainable face of Septembre Bouge
To anchor this mobilization in daily life,
September Move is based on a quartet of personalities: the doctor Marine Ltemporel, the journalist Matthieu Lartot, the swimmer Camille Lacourt and the para-taekwondoist Zakia Khudadadi. All defend an accessible sport, without obsession with performance, and a return possible at any age or with a disability.
Beyond the month of September, the network of 589 Maisons Sport-Santé must extend this dynamic by directing people everywhere in France towards adapted practices. The press kit summarizes the ambition in a simple formula: “Every movement counts!”.