French camp faces internal unrest despite Zidane’s promising start

Zinedine Zidane’s early success as France manager has been overshadowed by growing tensions behind the scenes, including organisational failures, a heated dispute between two equipment officials and a subsequent period of sick leave for one of them.

France have won three and drawn one of their first four matches under Zidane, but reports in L’Equipe, cited by French outlet Foot Mercato, suggest that the team’s positive results have masked significant disruption within the squad’s wider operations.

Players arrived at the Clairefontaine training centre on Monday for the latest international break. France are due to face Italy on Thursday before playing Belgium, with Zidane hoping to use the camp to continue developing his team and establish his tactical ideas. New arrivals include Pablo Pages and Sael Kumbedi.

The fixture listing also gives France matches against Italy in the first path of the Nations League on 12 November 2026 and Turkey on 15 November 2026.

However, L’Equipe reported that the problems affecting France extend beyond football matters, with concerns over how organisational issues and staff affairs have been managed.

September’s international break was marked by several embarrassing errors. In the match against Belgium, the kick-off was delayed after France used a tie in a colour that did not comply with the regulations. The French Football Federation was fined 10,000 euros as a result.

Other incidents caused confusion during the same period. Kylian Mbappe was seen holding the Turkish flag on his own after the two teams entered the pitch. During the match against Italy, Michael Olise had to remove a warm-up plate that had been left on the playing surface after the national anthems. Zidane was also unable to hear the start of the French anthem in Izmit.

The reported dispute

The issues continued away from the cameras, with L’Equipe reporting a serious disagreement between two equipment officials that escalated into an aggressive verbal confrontation.

The two men were identified as Bastian Giraud, the first-team equipment manager who was promoted after working with France Under-21s, and Kamel Lahlo uh. The newspaper said Lahlo uh’s close relationship with Fabien Barthez had helped him secure his administrative role.

According to the report, the pair’s first meeting ended in a heated argument. Giraud reportedly felt that his colleague was close to becoming physically violent and informed senior officials about what had happened.

L’Equipe said no decisive action was taken to resolve the matter, leaving Giraud frustrated. He believed his superiors were reluctant to take a clear position because they did not want to upset people close to Zidane. He later took sick leave.

Julien Mimetou, the former France Under-21 manager, will cover Giraud’s absence during November’s camp.

The French Football Federation is also preparing wider administrative changes. An internal advert has been issued for an assistant to team director Laurent George, while the role of security manager is due to be reorganised following allegations against Mohamed Senhadji.

The developments raise questions about the management of a France team containing some of world football’s leading players. Zidane’s task is therefore not only to build a competitive side, but also to create a stable environment free from disputes that could distract the squad.