Bernard Amsalem was the founding president of the national-level Val-de-Reuil Handball Club (1976-1992), President of the Haute-Normandie Regional Athletics League (1995-2004), Vice-President of the French Athletics Federation given responsibility for relations with local authorities (1996-2000), and President of the same federation from 2001 to 2016 for four consecutive terms of office. He was elected to serve as the first mayor of the newly created city of Val-de-Reuil from 1981 to 2001. Since 2008, he has served as Chairman of the company that organises the Meeting Areva athletics meeting, which is held annually in Saint-Denis, just outside of Paris. Founding President of the Association of Francophone Athletics Federations (AFFA), he has served on the Board of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) since 2011. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and President of the Mediterranean Athletics Union (UMA).