And the upturn suddenly stopped.
Almost when we least expected it.
In the semifinals of a World Cup that the Blues had approached, in the words of Valentin Porte, "on tiptoe".
Before getting emboldened over the victories - seven in a row anyway -.
But this Friday, Sweden, with all the carelessness and ardor of its youth, reminded the French that the reconstruction started a year ago from the ashes of a totally failed Euro still required a little time.
And work.
Abandoned by their guardians, unable to stem the yellow waves, the Blues suffered in the first period (13-16).
Without ever succeeding in making doubt this beautiful Scandinavian machine during a second one-sided period (26-32).
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However, this failure, as painful as it is, should not make us forget that France has once again reached the square of a World Cup and that it will play on Sunday (2:30 p.m., BeIn Sport) a match for 3rd place , against the loser of the Denmark-Spain duel.
A permanence at the top that impresses far beyond our small Hexagon.
Thus, true legend of the discipline in the 1990s, the Swedish Magnus Wislander had confided, before the semi-final, his admiration for the work carried out by France: "It is always difficult to maintain a high world level over the long term. term.
What France has done for 25 years, while other countries are experiencing their ups and downs, is absolutely incredible. ”
Imagine that since the beginning of the 21st century, in eleven editions of the World Championship, only once had the Blues not reached the last four, in 2013 when they clashed with Croatia in the quarter-finals (23-30) .
Bronze at best since the departure of the Narcisse-Omeyer duo
A course that is both classic and… surprising, given the depths of doubts that had seized this French team with the stability tested by the end of the glorious era of Experts.
An outcome that can be dated to the world title won in 2017 at Bercy, which marked the end of the international career of the tandem Daniel Narcisse-Thierry Omeyer.
The flying rear and the impassable keeper.
Leaving only Nikola Karabatic, Michaël Guigou and Luc Abalo as vestiges of this wonderful decade.
Since then, France has won two new medals, but only in bronze at Euro 2018 and the 2019 World Cup. Nothing infamous, but nothing as flashy as before.
What Philippe Bana, the new president of the French Federation elected at the end of 2020, summed up as follows: “We have so accustomed people to the exceptional that, as soon as the gold is no longer at the end, it is compared to a failure. , at the start of a decline. "
A decline that some believed inevitable a year ago, when the Blues scuttled themselves during a Euro ended with an elimination in the first round against Norway and Portugal.
Break between the players and the coach at the time, Didier Dinart, lack of communication and character, perhaps also a small sin of complacency among some young people expecting to arrive in conquered ground while the overall level of world handball - and especially European - continues to improve ... There are many factors that could explain this departure from the road.
Even if it was too late to prevent, the Federation nevertheless decided to heal immediately by replacing Dinart with his deputy, Gille.
An astonishing choice at first glance, almost too conservative and in the continuity of the previous fiasco.
A priori beaten in breach by this World Cup during which the France team will not embroider an 8th star on its jersey.
But which she used to continue her reconstruction.
With a bronze medal around his neck on Sunday, the process would be all the better.
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