The event, due to take place at the Maison du Sport Francais in Paris on March 13, will seek the views of those engaged in the election which will have its first round on April 10, with a run-off on April 24 between the two top candidates if no first-round winner emerges.

In a statement the CNOSF said: "The five-year term which will begin in April 2022 will be quite exceptional in terms of sports policies since it will be marked by the organisation in France of major sporting events, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.

"The end of the Paris Olympic Games (is) to ensure a lasting material and immaterial heritage for the benefit of French sport and all of our fellow citizens.

"Sport, a key tool for promoting well-being and health, a vector of social ties and inclusion, a player in the service of diversity, "better living together" and a driving force in our economy, must occupy a legitimate place and more strong in the debates of the Presidential and then legislative elections at the start of 2022.

"So the representatives of the various sports stakeholders have decided to invite candidates for the Presidential election to come and speak on the theme of sport and to react to the contributions that will have been shared with them beforehand."

The special meeting is being co-organised by the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, the Conseil Social du Mouvement Sportif, the National Association of Professional Sports Leagues, the UNION Sport & Cycle, the Mouvement des Entreprises de France Sports Committee, the National Association of Elected Sports Officials and Actors for the Economy of Sport.