The CNOSF (French National Olympic and Sports Committee) is holding its board of directors this Thursday, June 29, to elect the successor to Brigitte Henriques, president who resigned on May 25. Two candidates, David Lappartient and Emmanuelle Bonnet-Oulaldj, are seeking the votes of voters in a ballot that is supposed to put a definitive end to the crisis that has shaken the institution for several months.
Published on: 06/29/2023 – 10:07Modified on: 06/29/2023 – 10:10
Will the curtain fall for good on a sad spectacle? In any case, this is what the French sports family hopes, wishing to put the CNOSF back in working order, one year before the Paris Olympic Games. This Thursday afternoon, the 48 members of the Board of Directors must decide between the two declared candidates to succeed Brigitte Henriqueswho threw in the towel on May 25 after months of infighting.
Even if it is not the direct organizer of the 2024 Olympics, the CNOSF is supposed to promote the values of Olympism. However, we had moved away from it since September 12, the date of the dismissal by Brigitte Henriques of her secretary general Didier Séminet. The starting point of a soap opera punctuated by personal settling of scores brought to justice, a use deemed abusive of the Committee’s money and by a public disavowal of the president by her predecessor Denis Masseglia.
This sad period is David Lappartient who seems to have gone to close it. The current boss of the International Cycling Union, 50, has as a rival Emmanuelle Bonnet-Oulaldj, 45, co-president of the Sports and Gymnastics Federation of Labor, already a candidate in 2021 with a significant score of 16. %. But his opponent has experience as a leader (of the French and European cycling federations in particular) which he intends to use to deal with the most urgent matters: “ The priority is to bring together and unify the French sports movement. I believe I have been able to demonstrate, during the various mandates given to me, that I have always succeeded in uniting and linking “. And, it will have to be done in the context of a very busy schedule. David Lappartient indeed holds 10 local sports and political mandates.
Read alsoFrench David Lappartient at the head of the International Cycling Union
The watchful eye of the IOC
Among his functions, that of member of the IOC – since February 2022 – is of particular importance, when we know how alarmed the Lausanne body was by the turn of events at the CNOSF, to the point of publicly issuing a reminder to him to order. The candidacy of David Lappartient makes sense. “ He is a candidate out of duty, because it was necessary for an incarnation of the IOC to take the lead “, explains Kevin Bernardi, specialist in Olympism and founder of the site Sport and Society. « His project is marked by a strong imprint of the IOC. Being a member is welcome, because we know that he will have a watchful eye on the organization of the 2024 Games. “However, making the Olympic aristocracy does not guarantee either a blank check of the French sports movement, nor to be exempt from all reproach. In addition to his cumulative side, David Lappartient is criticized for his closeness to the Russo-Turkmen, Igor Makarov, a former cyclist turned gas oligarch. He was also the subject of a report from the Anticor association for past contracts as president of the Morbihan regional natural park.
Succeeding in the Games and after the Games
After the ballot, the elected official will have little time to act, because the deadline for the Paris Games is approaching at high speed, and several files must move forward, such as the appointment of a head of the delegation. French for the Olympics. But we must not forget the longer-term missions either. ” The Games and the post-Games must be successful “, recalls Cédric Gosse, the president of the French triathlon federation. ” Continue the work undertaken on the conditions for the preparation of athletes and work on the showcase that the Games represent for the practice of sport in France. Media exposure will be very strong from July to September 2024 (with the Paralympic Games). We can think that young people will then join clubs. This raises the question of a sufficient number of supervisors and volunteers, and the CNOSF has a key role in this area. “. Hence the importance of putting an end to this turbulent period, such as the Committee had never experienced since its creation in 1972. Whoever will hold the reins will however only have two years of visibility since he (or she) will only complete the mandate abandoned by Brigitte Henriques.
Read alsoThe president of the French Olympic Committee resigns at 14 months from the Paris Olympics
