Gailhaguet, two decades of reign over French skating

1998: the coronation
In the instances of the FFSG since his sporting retirement in 1976, Didier Gailhaguet, who was the mentor of the five-time European champion Surya Bonaly, acceded in September 1998 to the presidency of the institution, succeeding Bernard Goy. He recovers a moribund federation, riddled with debts and prey to chapel quarrels between the different disciplines.

2002: cheating
The first major scandal of his presidency broke out at the Salt Lake City Olympics. French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne is accused of having favored the Russian couple Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze to the detriment of the Canadian couple Salé-Pelletier. She declares that she acted under pressure from Gailhaguet to obtain the complacency of the Russians towards the duo of dancers Anissina-Peizerat which will be sacred for France. She was immediately dismissed from her position as judge, and Gailhaguet received three years of suspension by the International Skating Federation, but remained in charge of the FFSG. He was even re-elected there in 2004, facing, among others, Marie-Reine Le Gougne.

2004: the fall
The calamitous financial situation of the FFSG, still in receivership and highlighted in a report by the Court of Auditors, led to its first failure after six years of power without sharing. Under pressure from the Ministry of Sports, he was disowned in April 2004 by the executive office of the FFSG and resigned. He represents himself but fails. The only.

2007: the return
Didier Gailhaguet, who in the meantime has become the personal advisor to Brian Joubert, crowned world champion in March 2007, returned by the front door in December 2007. He was elected in December after the dismissal of Claude Ancelet, the accountant he had with him. -Even helped to install in 2006 to redress the finances of the Federation. Begins the second reign, just as absolute, of Gailhaguet. He was re-elected in 2010, 2014 and 2018, each time widely and even unopposed the last time. He even tries to take the head of the International Skating Federation in 2015. Without success.

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2019: the alert
The first public shake-up for acts of sexual behavior occurs in December 2019, when the newspaper USA Today reveals that the American authorities have opened an investigation against the French skater Morgan Ciprès, for having sent obscene photos to a 13-year-old girl in 2017 . Six days after the article was published, the FFSG published, as the only reaction to the case, a press release in which it minimized the acts alleged against the European champion and world bronze medalist in pairs, attacking the USA Today reporter. She concluded that she had "no reason not to trust him (Morgan Ciprès, editor's note)".

2020: the end?
The earthquake intervenes a few weeks later, with the accusations of sexual violence of several skaters against their ex-trainers, including ex-champion Sarah Abitbol, ​​who testified on January 29 in the Obs to have been raped when she was 15 years old by his trainer Gilles Beyer. Didier Gailhaguet is accused of having allowed the pinned coaches, many of whom were high level skaters in the 1970s, to continue their careers despite several alerts that reached him in the early 2000s. Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu requests his resignation. Then several presidents of French clubs. The sling is such that Didier Gailhaguet is forced to convene a federal council of the federation, which results in his resignation, a second time. The last ?

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