59

This article is based on data produced by the Minister for Sports in the form of an overview of French sporting federation licences by gender between 2012 and 2017. It challenges the idea that girls drop out of federations when they reach their teenage years. In fact, proportionally, young girls do not abandon sport more often than young boys; the gender differential in involvement in sports federations develops during childhood. Moreover, the data shows that since 2012 there has been a general steady progression in licences for girls, where licences for boys have plateaued or declined. Thus, although girls are no more likely to abandon their sport than boys at adolescence, we may assume that their socialisation to sport is at least as well consolidated, or even better, than that of boys.