Paris (AFP)

A month after the resignation of Didier Gailhaguet, swept away by the scandal of sexual violence in skating, the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG) elects its new president, Saturday morning in Paris. Ex-ice dance champion Nathalie Péchalat is a favorite.

Despite the draconian measures taken by the French government to curb the coronavirus epidemic, the FFSG decided to maintain its general assembly as planned, from 10:00 am, by strictly limiting access to candidates and voters. Three of the four presidential candidates were nevertheless in favor of a postponement.

Like Péchalat (36), the president of the Angers club Damien Boyer-Gibaud (also 36), mounted on the front line to call for the departure of Gailhaguet, short-track trainer Gilles Jouanny (57) and l ex-bobsledder Michel-Ange Marie-Calixte (52 years old) apply. Former international figure skating judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne finally retired for health reasons. At stake, a shortened mandate of two years, until the day after the JO-2022.

This election marks the end of an era, since Gailhaguet has reigned over French skating almost continuously for more than two decades, since 1998 (except between 2004 and 2007). But his sixth term suddenly ended in early February, after several former skaters, including ex-champion Sarah Abitbol, ​​revealed that they had been victims of rape and sexual assault, committed by different coaches, when they were adolescent girls.

- First lady ? -

If Péchalat is elected, it will be a first: a woman has never acceded to the presidency of the FFSG. More generally, it is extremely rare for a woman to rise to this level of responsibility: out of 36 Olympic federations, only the top of one, that of fencing, currently escapes a man.

The double European champion (2011, 2012) and double world bronze medalist (2012, 2014) with Fabian Bourzat, who ended his sports career in 2014, is the first to have started the race, only four days after Gailhaguet's resignation. And she seems to be leading the way.

It can count on the support of the two main leagues, Ile-de-France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, on which the nine biggest French clubs depend, say players in skating to AFP. Among them, the most important club, Lyon Patinage Glace (more than 520 licensees) and Grenoble (4th), officially support it.

But another project was built around Boyer-Gibaud, business manager, who came to skating through his daughter and club president since 2017. Around him, a think tank was formed which defends "a project that came from the base "," not anti-Nathalie Péchalat but constructive ".

Concretely, the 160 club presidents are invited to vote. But their weight depends on the number of licensees of their club. In one voice, for a club with between three and ten licensees, up to thirteen for the largest. In total, the clubs accumulate 872 votes.

- "Poutine Effect" -

"Out of a large number of people with whom I have spoken, Nathalie Péchalat represents the best guarantee of security to represent the French Federation, with the International Federation in particular, defend our athletes, maintain good relations with major centers (of training) international ... "pleads to AFP the president of the Lyon club, Pascal Girardot.

To those who think it has been exploited by Gailhaguet, Péchalat replies on social networks: "STOP! I am not the puppet of anyone. Those who know me know that I have never been in Didier Gailhaguet's little papers".

"It is a strong candidacy: it is a reassuring candidate, it is media, expresses itself well, it is a woman, it is not negligible with all that happened", agrees the president from Wasquehal club, Bruno Travail, support from Boyer-Gibaud.

"But do we need media coverage? Maybe we rather need people in the shadows, who do collective work, with new people, new ideas", wonders however the club president of Caen, Ludovic Le Guénnec, who also supports his counterpart in Angers.

As for whether the Gailhaguet page is definitely turned, many believe the opposite. "He's a diehard, he will surely try" to come back in 2022, says a leader. "We are going towards a Putin effect", compares a former champion.

© 2020 AFP