Consulted at the end of April by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron regarding the final cessation of competitions in France for the 2019-2020 season because of the coronavirus epidemic, the President of the French Football Federation Noël Le Graët will again meet with the Head of State this Wednesday at the Elysée to discuss the future of French football.
In its Sunday edition, the JDD had announced an upcoming telephone exchange between the two men. It will, in fact, be a meeting where it will notably address the government measures desired by the world of French football to support its economic recovery.
Noël Le Graët has estimated the losses suffered by the Federation at 10 million euros due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its impact is much greater for professional clubs: the shortfall will be of the order of 500 to 800 million euros according to several leaders.
French professional football is divided
While amateur football claims emergency aid, professional football is divided at the highest level after the decision of the LFP board to end the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 season on April 30, two days after the speech of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who announced the end of the competitions in the National Assembly. A decision very fraught with consequences, also very disputed, which was taken by Emmanuel Macron.
This meeting comes the day after the decision of the Council of State. This Tuesday, the judge in urgent proceedings (emergency procedures) suspended relegation to Ligue 2 of Amiens and Toulouse, and rejected the appeal brought by Lyon to resume the 2019-2020 season stopped against the coronavirus, validating the final classification decided by the Professional Football League (LFP). Obviously, Noël Le Graët and Emmanuel Macron, who have a very good relationship, will have the opportunity to return to all these sensitive subjects.
