After a short mandate of 15 months, the former president was reinforced in his functions, by defeating the former international Didier Codorniou, at the end of a once again tense campaign.
An election won hands down. Florian Grill was re-elected at the head of the French Rugby Federation this Saturday, after an electronic vote which had taken place since Friday among some 1,900 amateur clubs, on the occasion of the 165th Ordinary Elective General Assembly (AGOE) of the FFR . The outgoing president, who obtained 67.22% of the votes, largely beat Didier Codorniou (32.78), according to the first figures revealed this Saturday in Marcoussis several minutes late. The mobilization was, as in the last elections, very strong since the participation rate was above 91%.
Next step, a new election, this time to renew the regional leagues. After his first election, Grill only had 3 of the 13 leagues, he aims to have 10, at the end of this ballot which will be held from October 31 to November 2. “To align the planets”, he explained.
Former president of the Ile-de-France League, Florian Grill was elected president of the FFR in June 2023, with 65% of the votes, succeeding treasurer Alexandre Martinez who had taken over as interim president after the resignation at the end of January 2023 of Bernard Laporte , guilty during his second term of having entered into a “corruption pact” with the businessman and president of the Montpellier club Mohed Altrad (they appealed this decision).
“A full binder” of grounds for dispute
Once again, the campaign for the presidency was agitated, made up of small barbs, low blows and repeated attacks. And it’s not over yet. The opposition of Didier Codorniou (who preferred to stay in Narbonne this Saturday) could pose several appeals – she confided to the Figaro to have “a full binder” grounds for contestation – following irregularities noted during this election. Latest: the “100% Rugby” opposition list contacted the FFR ethics committee to report the appearance of Florian Grill in a live broadcast the day after the official end of the campaign, in violation of the code election which stipulated that the campaign ended Tuesday October 15 at midnight.
During the election, the Codorniou camp deplored a bug in the electronic voting system, which was disrupted this Friday morning due to a “technical incident”. “The integrity of the ballots remains guaranteed”had nevertheless assured the Commission for Monitoring Electoral Operations. Another sticking point: Codorniou and his running mates criticized the outgoing president for refusing access to Marcoussis to their bailiff, arguing that the one mandated by Grill, the president, was himself, “allowed to return”. The Commission for the Monitoring of Electoral Operations (CSOE), “with the support of the material resources made available by the FFR as an institution”, justified this ban as legal: “No justice commissioner, mandated by a candidate, will attend the counting operations.”
Worrying decline in the number of rugby schools in clubs
This legal and procedural battle which did not prevent Florian from winning a second mandate. The agenda of the leader of the “Ovale Ensemble” list has been very busy over the last 15 months, with the organization in France of two global events: the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This summer several Extra-sporting affairs have tarnished the image of French rugby: the racist remarks of Melvyn Jaminet, the accusations of rape against Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou and the tragic disappearance at sea of the young Medhi Narjissi.
Among the priorities of his new mandate, Florian Grill targeted the increase in the number of FFR licensees, which was 361,704 licensees in May 2024. The Federation saw a “World Cup effect” (+11%) but Grill deplores a regular decline in the youth categories and a worrying decline in the number of rugby schools in clubs.
More problematic is the financial situation of the FFR, after the 2023 World Cup which had a much higher cost than expected. “The Federation remains with seven years of operating deficit in seven years of mandate, it is a reality. Cumulatively, it’s 60 million euros in losses, including 19 million from the World Cup which was the unpleasant surprise. We were told that the World Cup was going to bring in 5 million euros and, in fact, it lost 36 million, he told us, specifying that “net cash is only 20 million. When we know that we are going to have to pay the 19 million GIE, we see that the situation is tense. And to add: “The work to straighten out the FFR is pharaonic…”
