The FFR unveiled the results of the by-election to the steering committee, which saw a large victory for the opposition Ovale Ensemble. Serbe Blanco suffered a heavy defeat and will not be able to run for the presidency of the FFR next month.
Following the resignation of twelve members of the steering committee of the French Rugby Federation at the end of January, a by-election was held between Wednesday and Friday, and the presidents of the French clubs therefore had to elect new members. And it was a big victory for the opposition list to Bernard Laporte’s team (forced to leave his seat after being convicted of corruption), Ovale Ensemble.
In addition to the nine seats left vacant following the resignation of several of its members and resumed this Friday, the opposition movement led by Florian Grill (who had been beaten by Laporte in the last election for the presidency of the FFR) in won three more, out of the 38 on the steering committee. Florian Grill, Abdelatif Benazzi, Jean-Marc Lhermet, Xabi Etcheverry, Pascale Mercier, Sylvain Deroeux, Marion Kellin, Claude Helias, Laurent Estampe, Clémence Gueucier and Jordan Roux are therefore electedat the end of this by-election where the participation rate was 88.22% of the clubs, representing 90.72% of the votes.
Skrela and Blanco largely beaten
The Laporte clan saves the honor thanks to the former captain of the Blues Guilhem Guirado, elected under the vacant post reserved for a high-level athlete, and who therefore replaces Pascal Papé, who resigned. Serge Blanco and Jean-Claude Skrela, who had left Ovale Ensemble because they did not agree with the collective resignation decision, to create another movement (Voix des Clubs), have meanwhile finished respectively 19th and 25th in this election and will therefore not sit on the steering committee.
Which means that Serge Blanco will not be able to run for the presidency of the FFR if he ever wanted to. This election, which will be held between June 12 and 14, will therefore see Patrick Buisson (the candidate proposed by Bernard Laporte, who had been rejected by the clubs) compete at Florian Grill.
