Milano Cortina 2026: Your guide to Team France at the Paralympic Winter Games

 The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games will showcase the best of Para sport, delivering unforgettable moments in Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

Up to 665 athletes from around 50 National Paralympic Committees are set to compete from 6–15 March, making Milano Cortina 2026 one of the most anticipated editions of the Paralympic Winter Games.

Discover the French delegation at Milano Cortina 2026 and explore moments that shaped its Paralympic Winter Games journey.

France at Milano Cortina 2026

Thirteen Para athletes and four guides are set to represent France across four sports -Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing and Para snowboard – at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, the NPC announced in February.

Legendary Para alpine skier Marie Bochet will lead the delegation as the Chef de Mission. Paralympic snowboard champion Cecile Hernandez and Para alpine skier Jordan Broisin have been chosen as flagbearers.

“Above all, I am very moved. This election has a real meaning for me, because it shows that the members of the French team trust me for this role, and that touches me enormously,” Broisin said. “I didn't particularly expect it, it's a huge pride and a real boost for the Games! I'm ready to take on everything behind this role, as best I can.”

Four years after collecting 12 medals at Beijing 2022, France returns to the world stage with a star-studded lineup that includes four defending Paralympic champions: Para alpine skier Arthur Bauchet, Para cross-country skier Benjamin Daviet, and Para snowboarders Hernandez and Maxime Montaggioni.

Nearly half of the delegation, 43 per cent, are already Paralympic medallists, bringing both talent and experience to the team.

France is aiming for a “tight and ambitious” goal of finishing inside the top four of the overall medals table at Milano Cortina 2026. With the French Alps preparing to host the Paralympic Winter Games in 2032, the team is eager to seize the spotlight early and build momentum on Italian snow.

France's top moments at Winter Paralympics

Ornskoldsvik 1976: Bernard Baudean makes history for France

Bernard Baudean made history by winning two gold medals at Ornskoldsvik 1976, the inaugural Paralympic Winter Games. About 200 athletes from 16 countries competed in two sports – Para alpine and Para cross-country skiing.

Baudean was the only French gold medallist in the Swedish city, topping the podium in the men's alpine combination IV A and men's giant slalom IV A events.

He competed at the Paralympic Winter Games for nearly two decades. With 11 medals across six Games, Baudean is the country's most decorated male Winter Paralympian.

Albertville 1992: French athletes take spotlight at home Games

France hosted the Paralympic Winter Games in 1992, bringing together 365 athletes who competed in 79 medal events across three sports. French athletes bagged 19 medals, including six gold medals.

Para alpine skiers Lionel Brun and Stephane Saas each won two gold medals on home soil. Brun won the men's slalom and super-G LW6/8 classes and took bronze in the downhill.

Saas, who made his Paralympic debut in Para athletics at Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984, won the men's giant slalom and super-G B2 events. He is a six-time Paralympic champion and one of France's most successful summer-winter athletes.

Salt Lake City 2002: Pascale Casanova becomes first female champion

Let's fast forward to 2002, when Pascale Casanova became France's first female Paralympic Winter Games champion. Casanova won the women's downhill B2-3 race at Salt Lake City 2002, with Katherina Tepla taking silver and Gabriele Huemer of Austria taking bronze.

The Para alpine skier captured 11 medals (three gold, six silver, and two bronze) across three Paralympics – Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, and Torino 2006.

PyeongChang 2018: Marie Bochet bags four gold medals for second straight Games

Para alpine skier Marie Bochet was very close to sweeping all five events at PyeongChang 2018. She won four events (women's downhill, super-G, giant slalom, and slalom) in South Korea, four years after finishing Sochi 2014 also with four gold medals.

"PyeongChang is one of the very best memories. It was perfect," Bochet said. "It was unbelievable because I had already won four gold medals in Sochi, and I didn't think I could do it one more time. I was very happy with that."

Beijing 2022: Flagbearer Benjamin Daviet tops podium twice

Benjamin Daviet was among the most successful French athletes at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

He was France's flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony, and he was also unstoppable on the snow, picking up gold medals in Para cross-country skiing men's sprint free standing and Para biathlon men's individual standing events, in addition to two silver medals.

Daviet has five gold, four silver and one bronze medals since making his Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014. After Beijing 2022, he swapped his skis for oars and competed in Para rowing at Paris 2024. 

And now he is preparing for Milano Cortina 2026.

"My dream is to win the only races (Para cross-country skiing men's middle and long-distance races) I am missing from my record at the Games, with my wife and my daughter in the stands. Also, my family and all those who accompany me every day in my sporting career."

Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games  

Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less. Specially-priced Early Bird tickets are available until 6 May 2025.

For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org