FILE - In this May 26, 1979 file photo, Florence Arthaud of France steers her 15 meter monohull called Biotherm off the Brittany coast. Two helicopters carrying French sports stars filming a popular European reality show crashed Monday March 9, 2015 in a remote part of Argentina, killing10 people, including two Olympic medal winners and sailing champion Florence Arthaud, authorities said. (AP Photo, File)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - French sports minister Patrick Kanner is asking for tributes to be paid at sports events to the three athletes who died in a helicopter crash.
Olympic champion swimmer Camille Muffat, Olympic bronze-medalist boxer Alexis Vastine and pioneering sailor Florence Arthaud were among 10 people who died as two helicopters filming a reality show crashed in a remote part of Argentina on Monday.
Speaking at a remembrance ceremony at the French National Institute For Sports, Kanner says "it's a small part of France that disappeared in Argentina."
About 400 people, including families of the victims and athletes, gathered at the ceremony in Paris and held a minute's silence.
The French Football Federation said that there will be minute's silence held at every ground in France this weekend, including games at regional and departmental level.
"The French football family wishes to affirm its support to the families and the loved ones of the victims," the FFF said in a statement Wednesday.
A woman signs a book of condolence in front of poster of Olympic gold medalist swimmer Camille Muffat, Tuesday, March, 10, 2015, at the City Hall of Nice, southeastern France. Argentine recovery teams arrived March 10 at the site of a helicopter collision to recover the bodies of 10 people, including Muffat, 25, who was participating in the filming of the reality TV survival series "Dropped" when two helicopters collided in mid-air, apparently while filming the show near the town of Villa Castilla in Argentina's La Rioja province. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
The Associated Press
FILE.- In this Aug. 3, 2012 file photo, France's Alexis Vastine reacts after defeating Mongolia's Tuvshinbat Byamba in a men's welterweight 69-kg preliminary boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. Two helicopters carrying French sports stars filming a popular European reality show crashed in a remote part of Argentina, killing 10 people, including French Olympic gold medal swimmer Camille Muffat, Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine and sailor Florence Arthaud, according to a statement from La Rioja's government. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky/File)
The Associated Press