Raymond Domenech at Roazhon Park in Rennes in 2017. -

LOIC VENANCE / AFP

  • This Wednesday evening, it's the Breton derby between FC Nantes and Stade Rennais.

  • It is especially the first match of Raymond Domenech on the bench of the Canaries.

  • The Nantes coach has fallen under the spell of Brittany, a region in which he loves to live.

It is his haven of peace.

The first place where he took refuge after the Knysna storm in 2010. When he is not in Paris, Raymond Domenech, who will be on the Canaries bench against Rennes this Wednesday evening (7 p.m.) for the first time, passes most of his time in Etables-sur-Mer, located in the bay of Saint-Brieuc, in the Côtes d'Armor in Brittany.

"He is often there on weekends and during the holidays", notes one of his best friends and his neighbor, Eric Blahic, assistant coach of the French women's football team.

With his partner, journalist Estelle Denis, Raymond Domenech, a native of Lyon, bought a house in this small Breton seaside resort in 2013, on several floors, which overlooks the old port of Saint-Quay-Portrieux.

“I discovered this region with the French U23 team and I told myself that I would come back.

We were going to do the internships in Saint-Malo.

Each time, we spent a week and the weather was exceptional.

I thought it was beautiful.

"

Sponsor of the US Tagarine

Estelle, however, leaned more for a pied-à-terre on the Ile de Ré.

“But we spent three horrible weeks there after the birth of Merlin [their second child], she confided to the

Parisian

last summer.

And I don't necessarily want to see the people I meet during the year.

“In Brittany, the couple live in peace.

“I found a plus there: it is respect for people, admits the technician from Nantes.

We can walk quietly.

There is a form of respect for the person that I cannot find everywhere.

If you see me calming today, I also owe it to what I experienced in Brittany.

"Eric Blahic confirms:" When he came after Knysna, he was never vilified.

There is a form of restraint among the Bretons, a desire not to bother him.

He is known there, but respected.

And above all well integrated.

In May 2020, Domenech accepted, for example, to be the sponsor and honorary member of the only football club in Etables-sur-Mer, the US Tagarine.

"He is registered like me at the tennis club and he was looking for partners to hit the ball in May at the end of confinement," says Killian Archenoul, the president of the club.

It was also my case, so we played a game together.

I then told him about the creation of our football club and he was immediately won over by the project.

He gave me his number indicating that he would be happy to help out.

”Domenech then attends the first training, which gives“ a hell of a publicity stunt ”to the US Tagarine.

“We could clearly see that he was missing the field and that he wanted to share his experience.

Since then, he follows our results and sometimes sends us messages before the matches.

"

Far from the Parisian mishmash, "I resource myself over there," admits Domenech.

“He likes to paddle, he walks a lot and rides an electric bike,” says Blahic.

Estelle Denis runs, often on the famous GR34, a coastal path going from Saint-Quay-Portrieux to Paimpol.

The new Nantes coach also goes out to sea from time to time with a friend's boat.

"Three days after Christmas, a scallop fishery was even planned ..." laughs Eric Blahic.

But, that day, Raymond Domenech, coach of the selection of Brittany, led a training session at La Jonelière ... under a "Breton" rain.

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