In 2024 when Pierre Gosselin was elected President of the French ASN, the FFSA, we were particularly pleased to have a historic- friendly man at the helm. He has proved to be very supportive of historic motorsport, but sadly his tenure was cut short at an Extraordinary General meeting on 24 March at which he was ousted from the role.

Having discovered financial irregularities and a lack of transparency required by the law, Gosselin referred to his predecessors, Jacques Régis (1997-2007) and Nicholas Deschaux (2007-2024) and revealed that since he has attempted to, “bring the Federation into compliance with the law and ethics and to shed light on all the ethical or financial grey areas that this system may have created” he has been subjected to threats and menaces from former President Jacques Régis and has filed a complaint against the former leader for non-public defamation and attempted blackmail. He has been the target of intimidation attempts by his predecessor, who allegedly sent him messages such as: “You have the choice between calming things down or continuing your attacks. In any case, you’re going to be ousted,” and “You’ll end up in the mud. It’s up to you. You’ve been warned.”

French media websites have been publishing bank and other documents allegedly linking the former Presidents to a web of companies and offshore bank accounts to which payments from the FFSA have been made.

In response, the members of the FFSA General Assembly issued a press release announcing they “have decided to file a collective complaint against Mr. Pierre Gosselin, notably for breach of trust, embezzlement and slanderous denunciation.”

As a consequence, French Minster for Sport Marina Ferrari has referred the matter to the public prosecutor on the basis of article 40 of the code of criminal procedure, which stipulates that “any constituted authority, any public officer or civil servant who, in the exercise of his duties, acquires knowledge of a crime or offence, is required to give notice of it without delay” to the courts. In addition, the minister has “decided to dispatch a general inspection in order to establish a diagnosis of the functioning and governance of the federation”, the final report of which is expected “by June”.

In the meantime, an election must take place to fill the vacancy and Gosselin has put himself forward for re-election with a list of fellow candidates that would like to bring fresh blood to the board. It takes place as we go to press.

It is interesting to note that the French motoring and mainstream press seems to be almost unanimously supportive of Gosselin’s intitiative.