French rugby clubs vote against Buisson as interim president

French rugby clubs voted against accepting Patrick Buis‐ son as the French Rugby Feder‐ ation interim president on Thursday.

Buisson was nominated by the suspended FFR president Bernard Laporte to replace him on an interim basis while La‐ porte fights a suspended two‐ year sentence on corruption charges. A Paris court found him guilty of passive corrup‐ tion, influence peddling, illegal interest taking and misuse of corporate assets.

About 90% of clubs partici‐ pated in Thursday's electronic vote, which went against Buis‐ son by 51% to 49%, the FFR said in a statement.

An executive committee meet‐ ing with French sports minister Amélie Oudéa‐Castéra will take place on Friday to decide what actions to take.

"I would like to salute the very high participation of clubs (in this vote), which was indispen‐ sable after the conviction of Bernard Laporte at the initial trial," Oudéa‐Castéra said in a statement. "I take stock of this result and will go to the federa‐ tion's headquarters tomorrow morning for the meeting to evaluate the consequences with all the members."

Oudéa‐Castéra's office said he also spoke with Laporte directly at the sports ministry after the vote.

Laporte was France coach from 1999‐2007 and coached club side Toulon from 2011‐16.

He was detained for question‐ ing on Tuesday in the latest ju‐ dicial twist in his battle against allegations of financial wrong‐ doing.

France's national prosecution office that focuses on financial crimes police questioned La‐ porte for suspected tax‐related wrongdoing.

That probe has been running since August 2020 and is still in its preliminary stage, meaning Laporte isn't facing a formal tax‐related charge at this point.

Laporte nominated Buisson as interim president after he was sentenced by the court.

Laporte, who has also self‐sus‐ pended as World Rugby vice‐ chairman, can remain FFR president until his judicial ap‐ peal is finished. But he will no longer take part in decision‐ making bodies, or sign any com‐ mitments on behalf of the FFR, with the interim president run‐ ning the federation.

Laporte's judicial worries have tarnished the prepara‐ tions for the World Cup, which will kick off in France in Sep‐ tember. Another top official, former 2023 Rugby World Cup chief executive Claude Atcher, was fired last year following an investigation by French labor inspectors into his workplace conduct.