On Saturday, the outgoing president of this federation, Nathalie Péchalat, was ousted by an unknown woman, Gwenaëlle Noury, whom she claims to be remote-controlled by former president Didier Gailhaguet accused of having covered up a coach implicated in rape and sexual assault.
"Gwenaelle Noury won by 52% of the vote, I offered her that we could meet on Tuesday," the minister told the press near the Stade de France, when asked about the result of this election.
"What is important for us is first of all to respect the result of this election but to ensure that the whole fight for the freedom of the victims' speech and for the prevention, the fight against sexual violence, is pursued with the utmost stubbornness,” she added in the same vein as a tweet made on Saturday.
"We must continue to ensure that this federation is focused on these points at the same time as it continues to carry its development trajectory," she insisted.
"There is a message of great firmness and clarity on these issues that we absolutely want to convey and I think it is my responsibility to make this message completely clear", she hammered again.
The new president, who had had no public expression during the campaign, said on Saturday that she had "consulted" Didier Gailhaguet "a consultant like all the others".
She did not comment on sexual violence.
Nathalie Péchalat was elected two years ago after the scandal of sexual violence shook the federation following the revelations of Sarah Abitbol, raped as a teenager by her trainer.
In 2020, it was after a violent standoff with the government, in particular with the previous Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu, that Didier Gailhaguet threw in the towel.
© 2022 AFP