If we rely solely on the results, it is difficult to see that anything is wrong for the French men’s epee team. This Sunday, the Blues won the World Cup event in Tbilisi, Georgia, easily winning against the Czech Republic (45-34). Their second victory in four team competitions this season, while Romain Cannone and Yannick Borel are still in conflict with the French organization chart.
VICTORY for the Blues at the World Cup in Tbilisi! Romain Cannone, Yannick Borel, Paul Allègre and Luidgi Midelton win against the Czech Republic, 45-34 🤺🇫🇷🔥 pic.twitter.com/ztkKTKqNLM
— French Fencing Federation (@ffescrime) March 24, 2024
Associated with Luidgi Midgelton in the semi-final, then with Paul Allègre during the final meeting, the two locomotives of the Blues were imperial throughout the day. During the semi-final against the Italian world champions, Borel performed the last relay perfectly, to win by a short header, with experience (45-43). The day before, Cannone returned to victory by winning the individual event, after several months of struggle, repositioning himself in the race to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Always feeling like you’re going “into the wall”
Behind the scenes, however, the two men, like Alexandre Bardenet (third in the individual event), are still on the front line of the conflict which led to the stepping back of their former coach Hugues Obry at the end of February. Manager of the France team since the Tokyo Games, estranged with some of his athletes since the 2023 Worlds, remains on the staff but ended up submitting his resignation to his DTN.
Without this seeming to fully satisfy the three swordsmen, who explained again last week in L’Equipe that they had the impression of going “straight into the wall”. “We cannot continue like this with Hugues in the Olympic project and a DTN committed to his cause,” Cannone explained for example. Four months before the Paris Games, the need to resolve this disunity is becoming pressing… Even if it does not seem, for the moment, to impact the level of the Blues.
