It is an anonymous building in the 12th arrondissement of the capital. Only a plaque in the hall indicates that the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG) has its offices here. On the first floor, fifteen people, composing its executive office, locked themselves up on Tuesday afternoon. They hold the future of this federation and especially that of their president Didier Gailhaguet in their hands.
While Roxana Maracineanu, the Minister of Sports, asked on Monday for her resignation, the irremovable boss of French ice sports since 1998 had assured: "We will think about all this. I will bring the management team together to study the situation very closely, with lucidity and responsibility. He took action.
In front of the building, no one is waiting for a resounding announcement at the end of this meeting, Gailhaguet having already scheduled a press conference on Wednesday. The different actors of the meeting, crossed at the entrance, on the other hand expected that the interview lasts until the end of the night: "We know that many, even during this meeting, among his closest want to bring down Gailhaguet , tells us someone close to the case. They can no longer bear this management. The problem is that people are afraid. He scares them: if they ask him to resign and at the end of the day, he saves his head as he is capable, he is so Machiavellian, it is theirs that will end up on the block. "
This is also perhaps what the players in ice sports in the various regions fear. Contacted on Tuesday, rare are the presidents of the League who wanted to comment on the turbulence of their federation. Whether pro or anti-Gailhaguet, few wish to take a stand. “What worries us most, beyond the case of the president, is the possible withdrawal of the delegation from the ministry, tells us all the same a president of League in the East. What are we going to do with our planned organizations? What will become of our athletes who have gone to international competitions? We are not given an answer so for the moment, we act as if nothing had happened. "
"Everything must jump in this federation"
The cardinals of ice sports must therefore reassure everyone. The actors also expect from this unprecedented crisis that everything will be overhauled: "Everything must jump in this federation, it can no longer last like that," slips the manager of a large club in the Paris region. At the moment, you are only aware of the submerged part of the iceberg. There are even worse cases lying around. "
Another tells us: "We must take advantage of the moment to put everything flat: withdraw the sports which no longer have their place in this federation such as bobsleigh, luge and skeleton which have nothing to do with it. These sports that do not interest the FFSG must take their autonomy, stand on their own two feet as they do internationally. Skating has always worked on its own. Let him continue without the others. The FFSG must answer this question, but also so many others.