Noël Le Graët on Thursday formalized his candidacy for a fourth term for the presidency of the French Football Federation, the most powerful and influential in France.

In office for a decade - his first election at the head of French football dates back to 2011 - the 79-year-old Breton is the big favorite to his own succession. 

"You don't turn off the lighthouse when you're in a storm".

Here is how the close guard of Noël Le Graët summarizes his fourth candidacy for the presidency of the FFF, formalized, unsurprisingly, Thursday.

The 79-year-old Breton, in the media-football landscape for more than 30 years, was one of the great architects of the renewal of the French Football Federation, ravaged by the Blues strike in Knysna in 2010. Despite failing health in recent years, and an age recalled by his detractors, Noël Le Graët is therefore returning to the fight.

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"You take away football from him, he dies, that's his reason for living", confides to Europe 1 a cacique of the "Fédé".

"With his experience, he has reached the age of maturity, both in French football and internationally [he is a member of the Fifa Executive Committee, note), he works for the general interest of French football . "

"Re-enchanting society with football"

"It is important to keep this stability in this period of crisis", believes Brigitte Henriques who, under the presidency of Noël Le Graët, was promoted to general secretary and then to vice-president of the FFF, in particular in charge of the football feminization plan. tricolor.

"We will need to help the clubs. The expertise and proximity that we can have in our organization will allow us to do so," she said on Europe 1.

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Campaign promise or not, the Le Graët team also sets itself the goal of "seeing how football will help make society and the world a better place".

Brigitte Henriques adds: "Our responsibility is to re-enchant society with football. And also to highlight our values, and the themes that we defend, such as education, everything related to violence against women, racism. We have to be more active than we already are and make it known. Because in know-how, we are already quite good, but few people know it. "

Budgetary "adjustments" in sight

But the context is extremely degraded, both in terms of health and economics.

In the letter sent to French football families, amateurs and professionals, which we have obtained, Noël Le Graët specifies that "the methods which worked yesterday, in a stable and growing environment, cannot be applied tomorrow."

"There will be adjustments to be made," says one in the ranks of the current president.

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Same story with Brigitte Henriques.

"The priority will really be to relaunch the machine, it means making sure that the clubs can reopen," she analyzes Europe 1, pointing to the economic difficulties of all sectors during this period.

"We will have to realize that we will not be able to have the same budgets that we had beforehand. Since November, there has been no income for the Federation, for the clubs."

The Federation has managed, for the moment, to maintain the Coupe de France, which earns it more than 35 million euros.

Frédéric Thiriez and Michel Moulin, the ex and the outsider

Faced with Noël Le Graët, the big favorite, two candidates have officially come forward.

An "ex", Frédéric Thiriez, former president of the Professional Football League between 2002 and 2016. And an outsider Michel Moulin, a businessman who gravitates with more or less success around football.

Two candidatures taken seriously officially, even if in the entourage of Noël Le Graët, Frédéric Thiriez is considered as "above ground", "who dreams all awake" and Michel Moulin as a "business man".

"We will be ready, motivated, determined", slips Brigitte Henriques.

Noël Le Graët can also count on the support of the most influential presidents of Ligue 1, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi (PSG), Jacques-Henri Eyraud (OM), Jean-Michel Aulas (OL) or Jean-Pierre Rivère (Nice) .

The campaign is only just beginning, the first blows too.

The verdict is expected on March 13, on the occasion of the general assembly of the FFF.