GIVEN FRENCH RUGBY’S history of fall-outs and controversies, the last few years have been rather smooth for les Bleus.
The rest of the rugby world had almost been waiting for the arse to fall out of it. When France started to look like the real deal under head coach Fabien Galthié, many suspected that it would unravel at some stage down the line.
There have been moments when things threatened to implode. Galthié himself was in the firing line in 2021 when he left the team’s Covid-19 bubble to watch his son play a game. It was a big story but in the end, the Fédération Française de Rugby [FFR] cleared him of any wrongdoing.
FFR president Bernard Laporte was a key driver in France winning the hosting rights for this World Cup and he had moved heaven and earth to give les Bleus everything they needed in the long-term build-up to the World Cup. But he was caught up in scandal when a French court handed him a two-year suspended sentence for corruption in 2022.
Again, one wondered how it would impact things on the rugby front, but after Laporte quit as FFR boss earlier this year, the show has simply gone on. It looked like France were heading into the World Cup with a pitch-perfect build-up.
They have won the intense support of the nation over the last few years. There have been many times in the past when French supporters were disillusioned and disenfranchised but they love this team. It all seemed to be coming together beautifully but we know that World Cups are never plain sailing.
First, the injuries started mounting. Out-half Romain Ntamack was ruled out of the entire World Cup, the same for second row Paul Willemse. Loosehead prop Cyril Baille will miss Friday’s opener against New Zealand at least, while inside centre Jonthan Danty is a doubt too. France have excellent depth, but it’s far from ideal.
On top of that, les Bleus are now dealing with a developing controversy. Willemse’s replacement in the French World Cup squad is Montpellier lock Bastien Chalureau.
Chalureau is a giant of a man at 6ft 8ins and around 125kg.
In 2020, Chalureau was given a six-month suspended prison sentence by a Toulouse court for assaulting two people. Chalureau was found guilty of “acts of violence with the circumstance that these were committed because of the race or ethnicity of the victim.”
The 31-year-old, who was playing for Toulouse at the time, has stringently denied that there was any racial element to the attack and has appealed against his conviction. That appeal is due to be heard in November.
Chalureau has played for France six times before, but his call-up to the World Cup squad has brought a completely new level of scrutiny on his past. It has become a big story in recent days, to the extent that Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has discussed it with Galthié.
Macron visited the French team today, urging them to win the World Cup on home soil, but he was also recorded discussing the Chalureau issue with Galthié, with both men possibly unaware that microphones were picking up their words.
“We must not indulge in controversies,” Macron told Galthié, as reported by Le Figaro and many other French publications.
“We went out yesterday [in front of the media, with Antoine Dupont],” replied Galthié.
“Bastien has to go out this evening. Let him be himself. If he has to cry, he has to cry. He has to say things.”
At this point, Galthié and Macron seemed to realise they were being recorded and turned away to continue speaking.
There had already a political element to this story, with Thomas Portes of the left-wing La France Insoumise [LFI] party among those to say that Chalureau should be deselected. French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said she has discussed Chalureau’s call-up with the FFR.
Meanwhile, former France captain Thierry Dusautoir expressed his displeasure at Chalureau being included in the French squad.
“I’m a little embarrassed because I’m a friend of the victim and I have a fairly strong opinion on this matter,” said Dusautoir on French TV station Canal+.
“I have always had a problem with him in the French team. Bastien Chalureau was selected in 2022, the facts precede his selection. I’m surprised by the timing of this controversy, the facts have been made public, but I was not present, there’s a procedure. I’m aware that I’m not objective in this matter.”
Dusautoir is a legendary figure and his words hold real weight in French rugby.
However, former France coach Philippe Saint-André has come out to criticise the “timing” of the publicity around the Chalureau case.
Saint-André, who coached Chalureau at Montpellier until earlier this year, is frustrated that France’s build-up to the World Cup has been hit by this controversy.
“What annoys me a lot is the timing. His first cap was on 12 November, 2022. If there was a problem, why didn’t we speak about it at that time?” asked Saint-André on radio station RMC Sport.
“Then, there was an announcement of the list of 42 players in June. If there was a Chalureau problem, why did these people not speak in June?
“Here we are trying to destabilise the French team five days from a World Cup. Fabien Galthié and his players have to beat New Zealand, win against the Irish, beat South Africa… and they’re taking a stab from our politicians five days before the competition.
“Now, yes, there is a Chalureau fact, I know it because I picked him up in Montpellier when he had been let go from Toulouse. We know that there was a problem, that he had a past, he appealed. But what I don’t like is the timing. We need to unite behind the France team.”
Four days out from a game they’ve been building towards for more than four years, France have been hit by scandal. They insist it won’t affect them, however, with Dupont saying that Chalureau “has always had an exemplary attitude, whether on or off the field.”
Galthié seemed unmoved too.
“The World Cup is not for wimps,” said the France boss.