The Air France Paris-Tbilisi flight, which left Wednesday March 20 at noon from Roissy airport, took off without a potential passenger, considered undesirable by part of the French delegation. Two weeks after traveling to Budapest for the previous round of the World Cup, Hugues Obry did not return to Georgia to supervise the Blues of the Sword, engaged this weekend in a new stage of the global circuit. An absence during a trip that would recur in May, during the Cali Grand Prix in Colombia.
From boss to sidelined, the change in status was rapid for the former fencer, Olympic team champion in 2004 during his sporting career. “Napoleon”, returned to the French management in 2021 after five years at the head of the Chinese national team with a view to the Paris Games, ended up leaving his position as general manager at the end of February. A resignation linked to tensions with three of his shooters, the reigning Olympic champion Romain Cannone and the world medalists Yannick Borel and Alexandre Bardenet, after a very stormy meeting at the World Championships in Milan this summer.
