Paris (AFP)

Ten days from running for succession at the head of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) Bernard Laporte was taken into custody Tuesday morning in Paris, in the investigation into his links with the Altrad group.

The boss of the group, Mohed Altrad, owner of the Montpellier club and sponsor of the Blues, was also placed in police custody by the financial police, just like the boss of the World-2023 Claude Atcher, and two senior officials of the Federation, Serge Simon and Nicolas Hourquet.

Laporte is notably suspected of having favored Montpellier Hérault Racing (MHR), by intervening with the FFR's appeal committee to reduce sanctions against the club at the end of June 2017.

The boss of French rugby, 56, arrived Tuesday morning at the premises of the Brigade for the Repression of Economic Delinquency (BRDE) to which the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) had entrusted the investigations in 2017, concordant sources told AFP.

The vice-president of the FFR, Serge Simon, also presented himself to the BRDE on Tuesday morning, noted an AFP journalist.

Laporte, former coach of the Blues (2000-2007), who then became Secretary of State for Sports under Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2009), has always defended himself from any intervention in favor of Montpellier, even if he admitted to having telephoned the chairman of the commission, Jean-Daniel Simonet.

Inspectors general of the Ministry of Sports have also established in a report sent to justice that the decisions of the commission were "modified" between 29 and 30 June 2017. Initially, the appeal commission would have decided to confirm the sanctions pronounced by the League (LNR), a 70,000 euros fine and a closed-door match, before moving to a 20,000-euro fine and a stay of the closed-door match.

The case concerned the deployment of banners hostile to the League by supporters of the MHR.

- France 2023 -

Three months earlier, the Altrad group, specializing in building materials, had become the first jersey sponsor of the XV of France, before supporting the French candidacy, ultimately victorious, for the organization of the 2023 World Cup.

By revealing the case in August 2017, the JDD also revealed the existence of a contract between BL Communication, a company headed by Bernard Laporte, and Altrad Investment Authority, for an amount of 150,000 euros.

Under pressure, the former Toulon manager had given up.

The police have already heard from several protagonists in 2019, in particular the three members of the FFR appeal commission who were to judge the case on June 29, 2017.

Against a backdrop of strong tensions between the Rugby League and the Federation, the affair had spoiled the start of the mandate of Bernard Laporte, elected on December 3, 2016. It now risks hampering the home stretch of his campaign with the clubs, responsible to decide against its main opponent, Florian Grill.

Monday, Laporte's lawyer, Me Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi, denounced the "timing" of this convocation, "judicial interference" in the electoral process according to him.

- "best interests" -

In an interview with Le Parisien, Bernard Laporte assured that by calling Simonet, he had simply wished to "give him a political light" on the tensions in rugby and that the situation had to be appeased within professional rugby.

Jean-Daniel Simonet, he assured the inspectors of the Ministry of Sports that his commission was only at the stage of a "hypothesis" decision on the 29th, according to him too severe.

Questioned by the court during a defamation lawsuit lost by the boss of the FFR against L'Equipe, on May 9, 2019, Philippe Peyramaure, one of the members of the appeal commission, gave much less consensual testimony.

According to him, Simonet had called him on the morning of June 30 to tell him about the phone call from a "not happy" Bernard Laporte, who "had told him, rather brutally, that Altrad was an important sponsor. of the France team (first jersey sponsor), an important support for the candidacy "victorious of France to the organization of the World-2023" and that it was necessary to remove these sanctions ".

"It is the best interests of rugby," said Jean-Daniel Simonet, according to this version.

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© 2020 AFP