Zinedine Zidane has made a positive start at the helm of the French national team, yet the apparent calm inside the camp hides a very different reality. Press reports have revealed a series of organisational crises and internal disputes. Things got so heated that members of the administrative staff clashed verbally, with one official taking sick leave after a row with a colleague spiralled out of control.
French website "Foot Mercato", citing "L'Équipe", reports that Zidane's opening months have been marked by turmoil off the pitch despite strong results on it, three wins and a draw from his first four matches.
France are now gearing up for the new international break. The players arrived at the Clairefontaine centre on Monday ahead of Thursday evening's clash with Italy, before a meeting with Belgium. Zidane hopes to use the camp to keep developing the team and embedding his ideas, especially with several new faces coming in, most notably Pablo Pagis and Saël Kumbedi.
L'Équipe, though, paints a very different picture behind the scenes. The problems, the paper says, go beyond results or tactics. They extend to the way certain organisational files and staff affairs are run within the national team.
Last September's international break threw up a string of embarrassing organisational errors. The most glaring was the sock incident against Belgium, which delayed kick-off and landed the French Football Federation with a 10,000-euro fine for using tape in a colour that breached the regulations.
Other moments caused confusion too. Kylian Mbappé appeared holding the Turkish flag on his own after the two teams walked out, and Michael Olise had to clear away a warm-up tray left on the pitch once both national anthems had played before the Italy match. Zidane, meanwhile, could not hear the start of the French anthem in İzmit.
The crises ran deeper than the errors caught on camera. L'Équipe revealed a sharp dispute between two equipment officials that erupted into a furious verbal clash and drove one of them to take sick leave.
At the centre of it are Bastien Giray, the first team's equipment official promoted after working with the France Under-21 side, and Kamel Lahlouh, whose close relationship with Fabien Barthez, the paper says, helped smooth his path into an administrative role.
According to the report, a heated verbal exchange broke out between the pair during their first meeting. Tension rose to the point where Giray feared his colleague was about to physically assault him, so he reported the incident to officials.
No decisive action followed to defuse the crisis, the newspaper claims. That left Giray frustrated. He believed his superiors were ducking a clear stance for fear of upsetting people close to Zidane, and he later went on sick leave.
Julien Mimito, the former technical director of the France Under-21 team, will cover Giray's absence during the current November camp.
Restructuring within the French Federation
These administrative changes reach other files within the French Football Federation. The governing body has published an internal advert for an assistant to team director Laurent George, while also preparing to reorganise the security official's post following accusations against Mohamed Senhaji.
All of this raises fresh questions about how the French national team is managed and organised. The squad boasts some of the biggest stars in world football, yet faces challenges that have nothing to do with the pitch.
Zidane's start has been promising, but the turmoil keeps mounting behind the scenes. His job, then, looks bigger than simply building a team capable of competing. He will also have to create a stable environment, free of the rows threatening to pull focus inside the France camp.