Banque Populaire and the world of sailing

Since 1989, Banque Populaire has been a consistently dependable partner of the world of sailing. A ship-owner and competitor itself, the bank has distinguished itself by entering exceptional boats in the world’s most legendary races and by supporting some of the most highly talented skippers of their generation.

Banque Populaire is also committed to building greater awareness of the quality of French sailing as a whole. For almost three decades, it has distinguished itself by providing unfailing support for sailing clubs, sailing schools, and the French national team through its partnership with the French Sailing Federation. This has enabled it to help develop this sport at all regional and national levels, and to promote all the different ways of practicing this sport from initial discovery to high-level competitions. 

Banque Populaire is also proud to have been, since 2003, a sponsor of the Eric Tabarly Association, which was recognized of public utility in 2023. The association has taken concrete steps to preserve France’s sailing heritage and to maintain the seaworthiness of the Pen Duick, the fleet of ocean racing yachts – classified as a historic monument in 2024 – and sailed by France’s most celebrated yachtsman Eric Tabarly (1931-1998).

Team Banque Populaire, a winning side!

The most successful sailing sponsor in the world, Banque Populaire, with its skippers and racing yachts, has triumphed in the world’s most prestigious races. To name but a few:  the Transat Jacques-Vabre in 2005 with Pascal Bidégorry and Lionel Lemonchois, the Jules Verne Trophy in 2012, and the Route du Rhum in 2014 with Loïck Peyron, the Vendée Globe with Armel Le Cléac’h in 2017, and the Solitaire du Figaro in 2020, once again with Armel Le Cléac’h at the helm.

To this can be added the more recent victories of Corentin Horeau in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2023, the triumph of Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023 aboard the Maxi Banque Populaire XI, and that of Armel and his crew in the Finistère Atlantique in 2024.

The fleet’s flagship vessel is the Maxi Banque Populaire XI, a jewel of high technology and innovation measuring 32 meters from prow to stern and 23 meters in width. After completing her maiden voyage in May 2021, this giant of the seas took part in the Arkea Ultim Challenge in early 2024 and arrived in third place at the end of this incredible solo round-the-world race without a stopover. In June 2024, the Maxi Banque Populaire XI crossed the Atlantic Ocean with the Paris 2024 Olympic Flame on board, taking part in an extraordinary adventure, focused on preserving the oceans, and shared by the hand-picked crew of sporting celebrities such as Marie-José Pérec, Marine Lorphelin, Hugo Roellinger and Alexis Michalik, led by Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse.

The Banque Populaire is also…

• The builder of 6 multi-hull vessels, including the largest ocean-going racing trimaran ever built
• 5 around-the-world races
• 18 crewed and single-handed ocean sailing records
• More than 40 participations in the world’s largest ocean races including 3 Vendée Globe, 7 Routes du Rhum, and 12 Transat Jacques Vabre races
•  44 Atlantic crossings
• The owner of 12 racing yachts.

For the greater glory of French sailing

Banque Populaire is also committed to promoting French sailing and has been sponsoring the development of sailing clubs and schools, as well as supporting the French national sailing team for the past 20 years.

• 55,000 lifejackets, 6,000 boats or sails and 160,000 items of sportswear co-financed thanks to the partnership between Banque Populaire and the French Sailing Federation (FFVoile)
• Support for 1,500 sailing clubs and schools.

Banque Populaire and surfing

The same passion, the same natural environment for Banque Populaire! Just like sailing, surfing rewards individuals possessing an entrepreneurial spirit: a keen sense of observing their environment, anticipating actions taken by others, the mastery of innovation in the face of the elements, a quest for performance, and a thirst for success. Since 2020, Banque Populaire has been a principal partner of the French Surfing Federation. 

Here again, the objective is clear: to support this sport at every national and regional level, to accompany the success of all surfing enthusiasts. With a men’s gold medal and a women’s bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Tahiti), the challenge has undeniably been crowned with success.

Banque Populaire is accompanying the national French surfing team and supports all types of surfing variants such as longboard surfing, stand-up paddle racing as well as the shortboard. Banque Populaire is associated with two flagship events organized by the French Surfing Federation (FFSurf): the Banque Populaire Surf Tour and the French Surfing Championships by Banque Populaire.

It also helps develop the structures of the French Surf School label, which trains and supports young people until they reveal their full potential. Banque Populaire also sponsors the actions of FFSurf aimed, in particular, at limiting the number of deaths by drowning within the framework of the Aisance Aquatique (‘At ease in the water’) water safety plan.

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Find out more about surfing

Banque Populaire’s Sillage Program

Banque Populaire’s passion for sailing and surfing goes beyond sport as such. The bank decided, on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay, to launch a legacy program, entitled Sillage (a ship’s ‘wake’ or ‘trail’), in favor of preserving aquatic environments.

This commitment was expressed in 2024 through an educational program, support for World CleanUp Day and through numerous actions linked to the Maxi Banque Populaire XI’s Ocean Relays.

In 2025, this program will be continued and developed with the support of the sports federations accompanied by Banque Populaire and the extension of its sponsorship action with World CleanUp Day.

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For Caisse d’Epargne, several passions

From the moment of its creation, Caisse d’Epargne has been pursuing its corporate mission of being useful to all without, however, ever losing sight of the collective interest, a calling that also finds expression in the savings bank’s commitment to sport. 

Already a major partner of handball and basketball in France for the past ten years, the bank launched the Pacte Utile Caisse d’Epargne (‘Caisse d’Epargne Useful Pact’) in 2021, an engagement program forming part of its partnership with the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024 Premium Partnership and designed to make the Games useful to all: useful to the athletes, to society at large, and to local and regional France.

By the end of 2024, 121 sports grounds had been built or renovated in the space of three years within the framework of the Pacte Utile. Caisse d’Epargne is proud to announce – in January 2025, the renewal of its commitment to the French Handball Federation for a further four years.

As part of this new commitment, Caisse d’Epargne aims to involve families and young people to a greater extent and to continue its efforts in favor of gender diversity and inclusion.

Basketball and handball

Caisse d’Epargne supports two team sports that are extremely popular in France: basketball and handball. A partner of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) since the summer of 2014 and of the French Handball Federation (FFHandball) since January 2015, it supports the French national men’s and women’s teams in these two sports. In 2019, Caisse d’Epargne also became a partner of 3×3 basketball.

French handball’s incredible track record

With its support of the French national men’s and women’s teams, youth teams, and the Maison du Handball center dedicated to this sport, Caisse d’Epargne has been a major partner of the French Handball Federation since 2015. 

The French men’s and women’s handball teams together boast an unrivaled track record of 17 medals, including 8 world titles and 2 incredible gold medals in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 won by both the men’s and women’s teams! The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were an opportunity for the women’s team to make a further addition to its record with a magnificent silver medal.

The 15 regional Caisses d’Epargne also sponsor a large number of professional and amateur clubs throughout France.

This commitment is also highlighted on social networks with Esprit Handball Caisse d’Epargne.

Outstanding results for French basketball

A partner of the French national women’s, men’s and youth basketball teams since 2014, Caisse d’Epargne committed itself in 2019 to the promotion of 3×3 basketball, a sport that became an Olympic discipline in 2021. 

In 5×5 basketball, the French basketball teams rank among the world’s top teams winning medals in European and World championships. For the men’s team, the latest achievement (after Tokyo in 2021) was a fantastic silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The French women’s team boasts an equally impressive set of results in European and World competitions with, in particular, a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics (after claiming silver in London in 2012) and a silver medal won at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a final against the United States.

Caisse d’Epargne is also fostering the promising discipline represented by 3×3 basketball. The savings bank has become a partner of the ‘FFBB 3×3 Superleague’, the first national competition to bring together the elite of this discipline in France. 

The record of achievement is also remarkable at the level of the France teams supported by Caisse d’Epargne: the women’s 3×3 basketball team made history by winning its first world title in 2022, after being European champions in 2019. The men also reached the podium in the World Championships in 2022 (3^rd ranking) after being European runners-up in 2019 and they won an unforgettable silver medal in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

You can find all the latest news about basketball on Esprit Basket Caisse d’Epargne.

Pacte Utile (Useful Pact) 

Through the Pacte Utile (‘Useful Pact’), Caisse d’Epargne contributed to the legacy of the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024 with a major commitment to providing communities with sports facilities at a local and regional level in France. This initiative enables the savings bank to promote the practice of sport for all with a view to enhancing social inclusion, and allows it to highlight the value of sport as a lever for the transformation of society and as a factor in personal fulfillment.

Whether accompanying athletes, restoring existing sports facilities and creating new ones, or supporting associations, Caisse d’Epargne is involved in a wide range of projects, all of which reflect its commitment to three core principles: to be useful to athletes, to be useful to society at large, and to be useful to local communities.

By the end of 2024, more than 120 sports grounds had been completed or were being renovated or built by Caisse d’Epargne. What is more, 130 operations bearing the Pacte Utile label have already helped to train, educate and raise awareness among a highly varied range of audiences through sport.

Through all these commitments, the Caisse d’Epargne has made it possible to strengthen ties and federate around sport throughout France and thus contribute to the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

Partner of 2 Sports federations (handball & basketball)

Support for 70 Individual Athletes

120 Sport courts renovated or created

Natixis and rugby: the strength of the collective spirit

Natixis, which has been partnering the Racing 92 rugby club since 2007, has supported the Ile-de-France team over the years as it progressed to the very top of the French and European championships. In July 2024, Natixis decided to renew its partnership with the players in sky-blue and white jerseys until 2029. 

For the past 17 years, Natixis has shared values with the Racing club such as loyalty, the importance of training and human relations. Over the years, the partnership has grown to include support for all Racing 92 squads: the professional, women’s and youth teams.

Because rugby is a powerful tool for teaching values and promoting social diversity, Natixis is supporting the educational projects of three Racing 92 rugby schools (RCF Colombes, Racing-Plessis-Robinson and Racing-Nanterre) to train young talent and instill the values of teamwork and sport in the youngest members of society. 

Natixis has also decided to become the sole sponsor of the recently created Racing 92 seven-a-side rugby team.

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To learn more on Natixis’ sponsorship with Racing 92

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