Coincidentally, the preparation of Les Bleues for the 2023 World Cup (July 20-August 20) begins on the land of former coach Corinne Diacre, at the Gabriel-Montpied stadium where she revealed herself on a men's bench, in Ligue 2.

Committed until the Olympic Games of Paris-2024, his charismatic successor offers himself a warm-up for his first at the helm of a women's team: this friendly against the 26th world nation, qualified for the World, seems more affordable than Tuesday's clash against the Canadian Olympic champions at Le Mans.

In front of nearly 12,000 spectators in Auvergne, Renard's first choices will be observed as much as the attitude of his players.

Will they have been freed after five and a half years under the leadership of Deacon and final gatherings marked by a certain gloom?

Wendie Renard "will assume"

Leader of the sling that led to the departure of Deacon, Wendie Renard is expected "at the turn" after the crisis, noted her coach, without however removing the captain's armband.

The players of the France team, including Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer, at training in Clairefontaine, April 3, 2023 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

"I did not wait for this kind of decision to be expected at the turn," assured the Lyonnaise Thursday. "It was my choice, I assumed it and I will assume it."

Without most of the rebels - Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Griedge Mbock are wounded - the beginning of this April truce in Clairefontaine (Yvelines) has in any case demonstrated a renewed enthusiasm in the blue ranks.

"I was very pleasantly surprised. I found that there was a lot of attention, a lot of listening, a lot of dialogue, "said the new coach after four days of work.

"It's true that we are much more relaxed," says Amel Majri, back after a year and a half of absence, accompanied by her nine-month-old baby. "We have a little less pressure and it shows. We are a little more ourselves and it feels good," she told AFP.

"Living together"

The midfielder says she is seduced by the Renard method: "He is really about cohesion, living together. From his past results, he can instill in us that individuality without the collective is nothing. I can see that renewal."

The 180-degree turn is also measured in the workforce. After two years of being sidelined under Diacre, Les Bleues' top scorer Eugenie Le Sommer made her return, immediately propelled to the rank of vice-captain alongside Grâce Geyoro.

"We must quickly get back into it," slips the Lyon to 86 goals in 175 caps, ensuring that she was "not going to reinvent herself" despite this call-up that sounded in her mind "like a first selection".

The absence of Katoto and Diani may give him a chance in attack, while in the middle, the non-summoning of a faithful Deacon, Charlotte Bilbault, offers a jump seat.

The latest change to date, winger Kessya Bussy withdrew on Thursday on the eve of the match, replaced by Lyon's Melvine Malard due to a pain in his left foot.

The first "eleven" of starters will set the tone of the Renard method, even if he promised rotation between the two matches. And his analyses will offer first impressions of his knowledge of this environment that he discovers.

But around him, confidence is required: "I did not know Hervé outside and he surprised me a lot," assures AFP his deputy Eric Blahic, passed in the management of Deacon between 2020 and 2021 and recalled to expand the staff. "From the moment he decided to be in it, he was totally invested in this mission. He knew how to surround himself and he measured the risks."

© 2023 AFP