Coach Raymond Domenech and French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes, who has also announced his resignation, will both appear at a parliamentary commission tomorrow
The national soul-searching and high-level meetings looks set to continue in France after the team's World Cup fiasco despite FIFA warning French politicians to beware of meddling in the running of soccer.
Outgoing coach Raymond Domenech and French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes, who has also announced his resignation, will both appear at a parliamentary commission tomorrow, a National Assembly spokesman said today.
Virtually at the same time, FIFA president Sepp Blatter warned the French government not to interfere in the affairs of its soccer association or the sport's governing body could suspend the FFF.
Blatter's threat came a day after Escalettes resigned in the wake of France's disastrous showing in South Africa.
French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot had said last week Escalettes's resignation was "unavoidable".
France's group stage exit, marred by the players' decision to boycott a training session in support of expelled striker Nicolas Anelka, has sparked a passionate debate in the country, with the top politicians getting involved.
Such was the national angst that president Nicolas Sarkozy urged a soccer shakeup and met former team captain Thierry Henry.
"There are two elements that absolutely need to be at the heart of the debate," French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) president Denis Masseglia said.
"One is the social role of soccer in terms of education and another is the link between the amateur and professional worlds."
The FFF, not politicians, should oversee the necessary wholesale review, Masseglia added.
"We must agree on the principles we have to follow but its up to soccer people to decide what's good for their sport," he said.
With a new team coach and soon a new chief, French soccer is attempting a fresh start which was the only option after their catastrophic World Cup campaign.
Domenech, whose traumatic six-year tenure ended with France's elimination, will now make way for Laurent Blanc, a prominent member of France's 1998 World Cup-winning squad.
Escalettes has left the picture too, paying the price for France's bad behaviour at the World Cup but also for supporting Domenech in spite of the Euro 2008 flop.
The FFF president will officially resign at a council meeting on Friday in Paris at which Blanc should be presented with a two-year contract and the mission to qualify the team for the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
Blanc, nicknamed "the president" for his calm authority in his playing days, needs to rebuild a team who looked lost on the pitch at the World Cup and shocked their fans by refusing to train.
Escalettes should be replaced at first by a caretaker president before elections scheduled for September. The favourite to succeed him is senior FFF official Jacques Lambert, who masterminded France's successful bid to host Euro 2016.
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