sentenced to two years in prison suspended for corruption, the president of the French Rugby Federation was received on Thursday by Amélie Oudéa-Castera.
by Osséma Khemissi, Aude Lasjaunias and Gabriel Richalot
It was an expected explanation between the current Minister of Sports and a former portfolio holder. Amélie Oudéa-Castera received, Thursday, December 22, in Paris, Bernard Laporte, president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) and former Secretary of State of the Fillon Government (2007-2009). During this interview, the manager, sentenced to two years in prison suspended, 75,000 euros fine and two years of ban on exercising any function related to rugby – in particular for “passive corruption”, “traffic Influence “and” illegal taking of interests ” -intended to convince the minister that after having appealed this judgment, it was possible for her to remain president of the FFR while putting himself” behind “from the post.
During the judgment of December 13, Mr. Laporte was found guilty of having made a series of arbitrations favorable to the businessman and president of the Montpellier Mohed Altrad club, of which he received 180,000 euros , in March 2017, in return for a fictitious image contract. Justice had then pointed out “his lack of awareness of the illegality and gravity of these attacks on probity”. In this case, Mr. Altrad was sentenced to eighteen months suspended prison sentence and 50,000 euros fine.
This Thursday, after more than an hour and a half of maintenance, Mr. Laporte, accompanied by the director general of the FFR, Laurent Gabbanini, appeared briefly on the porch of the ministry, beaten by the rain. Just time to slip, smiling, that the meeting had been “very constructive”, a qualifier also retained by the ministry which evokes a discussion “in-depth, frank and direct”.
a tight match
Beyond the usual formulas, the two games played a tight match. On the one hand, Mr. Laporte wishes to remain at the head of the FFR, considering that a resignation would amount to recognizing his guilt in a case for which, thanks to his call, he is always considered innocent. On the other, the objective of M me oudéa-Castera is “not to let the crisis settle” within the bodies of French rugby and to “succeed in the 2023 World Cup” , which will take place in France on September 8 in October 28, 2023.
At the end of this meeting, the Ministry of Sports published a press release demanding that the “withdrawal” promised by Mr. Laporte be “accompanied by all the guarantees necessary for its effectiveness”. Concretely, learned MO12345lemonde, the minister asked Mr. Laporte “the withdrawal of all his functions and all her prerogatives” and “to list in writing everything he renounces”. Bernard Laporte is committed to gathering the federal office of the FFR on Friday, December 23 to provide answers to the Minister.
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