Monaco joëlette association chief to race in La Réunion
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
The president of a Monaco-based joëlette association will act as a carrier in La Réunion's Diagonale des Fous, one of the toughest ultra-trail races in the world, in tribute to terror attack survivor Loïc Liber.
The president of Monaco's joëlette association is heading to La Réunion this month to take part in the Diagonale des Fous, widely regarded as one of the most gruelling ultra-trail races on the calendar. He will run as a porteur, pushing and pulling a joëlette, the all-terrain wheelchair designed for athletes with disabilities, across the island's volcanic terrain.
The challenge forms part of a wider solidarity project organised by the association Canal de Vie in support of Loïc Liber, the sole survivor of the 2012 attacks carried out by Mohammed Merah in Toulouse and Montauban. Liber was seriously wounded in the attack on the Ozar Hatorah school and has since become a symbol of resilience, with Canal de Vie working to raise awareness and funds in his honour.
For Monaco's small but active joëlette community, the race is a rare chance to put the Principality's name behind an international cause with direct personal stakes. The association, which normally organises accessible outings and events for people with reduced mobility around the Rock and along the Larvotto coastline, says the trip to La Réunion reflects the same values of endurance and solidarity that underpin its work at home.