Sunday, they will seem far away these two weeks spent under the sun of the Côte d'Azur. The rain is announced above the Stade de France, and especially some English vice-champions of the world, rather well built, will come to play elbows for the first match of the tournament of the Six Nations. In short, the beautiful blue sky, the four-star hotel facing the sea on the Promenade des… Anglais, the training in the mild winter of Nice, will form nothing but old memories in the tricolor heads. Hopefully they will have been profitable. Because for the moment, the Federation is spending a lot while waiting for hypothetical fallout.
It brings together forty-two players and their overwhelming staff, takes all these beautiful people - over sixty people - warm, and leaves Marcoussis, the training center in Essonne specially designed for that, deserted. "We chose Nice simply because part of the technical staff knows the place," explained manager Raphaël Ibanez. The French team stayed there to prepare for the last World Cup in Japan. It is a place conducive to performance, to excellence. This also makes it possible to change from the usual CNR framework. "
At the FFR, it is indicated that the operating budget lines of the XV of France are submitted, like the rest, each end of the season during a congress, to the vote of the clubs. The finances may be struggling, nothing is too good for the French team, this showcase which "must" enhance the coat of arms of a tri-color rugby at half mast.
Expensive coaches
"I am completely behind the Blues, said Florian Grill, president of the Ile-de-France League which leads the opposition list to Bernard Laporte for the next federal elections in October. It is interesting to get closer to your audience. The trip to Nice represents only a drop of water anyway in the additional cost linked to the decisions taken in recent seasons. "
Florian Grill, who sits on the FFR's steering committee, points in particular to the dismissal of former coach Guy Novès. "It cost 2.5 million euros," he says. If we add the double staff (Editor's note: Galthié and Labit had strengthened the Brunel team ) taken to Japan for the World Cup, Jacques Brunel's contract which is still running for six or seven months, we get 5 million euros in all . Was a World Cup quarter-final worth it? "
At the end of 2018, the FFR had an operating deficit of 6.8 million euros. At the end of 2019, it was 1.5 million euros. A sponsor, BMW, slammed the door. The Leagues, which absorb certain expenses previously returned to the Federation, are experiencing difficulties: 1.5 million euros for that of Occitania, 600,000 euros for that of New Aquitaine. "The wage bill of the FFR has increased recklessly in three years ( note: 65% ), asserts Grill. It's a headlong rush. We are building a house of cards which is going to collapse. "
