The French Olympic Committee must “come together” and “bounce back” after the resignation Thursday morning of its president, Brigitte Henriques, reacted the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, in a statement to AFP.
“There is no winner today,” she said, but there can be “a victory, that of an ethical and democratic leap forward,” she added, specifying that she invited the ministry the executive office of the body “Tuesday evening” in order to “take stock”.
On the agenda of this meeting: “the next steps” of the CNOSF and “to support it in this transition phase, while respecting the autonomy of the sports movement and with determination and serenity”.
With the line of sight, too, “to focus its teams and all the stakeholders on the preparation and the good delivery of the Games, which are our primary objective” and this while the committee has been plagued by an internal crisis for more than a year. year.
The minister also praised “the long-established action in the service of French sport” of Brigitte Henriques, “a woman of conviction, a committed, passionate, courageous woman”. “She will forever remain the first president in the history of the CNOSF,” she added, while French sport has extremely few female leaders.
“This resignation is the decision of Brigitte Henriques. I take note of it, and I respect it, ”she also added.
Since her arrival, the Minister of Sports and the Olympic Games has experienced a succession of governance crises in French sports federations (football, rugby, gymnastics, ice sports), which have seen the presidents of French football and rugby federations resign in particular. , as well as the managing director of the Rugby World Cup organizing committee.
SEE ALSO – Kylian Mbappé’s magnificent double with Paris SG against Auxerre (1-2)
