Axel May 07:52, October 13, 2022
As the 2024 Paris Olympics loom, French sport is going through an unprecedented governance crisis.
Brigitte Henriques, president of the national Olympic committee, challenged internally, announced publicly on Wednesday that she was stepping back.
A new Secretary General has been appointed to assist him.
Brigitte Henriques faces a historic revolt from several leaders of Federations, who consider her management of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) at the head of which she was elected president last year too authoritarian.
Wednesday, after a board meeting presented as crucial, the former footballer appeared marked.
>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here
The president of the CNOSF says she is exhausted
"I am exhausted by the 15 months that I have just lived", says Brigitte Henriques.
"I am not on sick leave. I remain president. However, intermittently, I will take the rest that is necessary for me and which is imposed on me", she specifies.
Less than two years from the Paris Games, the president of the CNOSF remains in place, while taking a step back, and the rivalries remain.
Brigitte Henriques obtained the dismissal of her own secretary general, Didier Séminet, in mid-September and filed a complaint against him for psychological violence.
The CNOSF returns a "disastrous" image
Former fencer Astrid Guyart has been her new secretary general since Wednesday: "It is important now that we switch to these Games, especially vis-à-vis the athletes, to ensure that for our athletes it is indeed a advantage of having Games at home, and not a psychological burden."
Athletes who note above all that their governing bodies reflect an image far removed from the values of sharing and respect carried by Olympism.