Dany won the Tournoi de Paris twice, adding to his 3 European and two world medals, making him a household name in France. Now though, since a fortnight ago, his role is that of France Judo’s Head Coach, for the men’s team. While keeping an eye on his team of coaches and athletes, at the beginning of day 2 of the Paris Grand Slam, he was happy to speak about his new role.
“It is a big job,” an undisputed assertion. “After the Olympic Games, the French Federation really thought about how to restructure and I offered the suggestion of a project which was accepted. For me there were two important points. The first is for everyone to work together, with clubs, the federation and the national team. The second is to find and sustain the best environments for each athlete. We should always consider their preference, for their heads, fro their economic situation, for their family circumstances, whatever is best for them. They can work 50/50 for example, at their clubs and with the national team."
There is always a perception that the French team is united, a very close knit group, looking out for each other at every event.
“It is like this, it’s true they are welded together. Everyone trains at INSEP at least some of the time regardless of how much contact they also have with their clubs. They do rnadori at INSEP but physical or technical work can be done according to their preference. My real job is to manage nad maintain the communication between all parties so that this hybrid system can work at an optimum level for every member of the team.”
The French team topped the medal table at the 2025 Paris Grand Slam with 3 gold, 3 silver and 9 bronze medals. This is not unusual in Paris but it is confirmation that despite some big changes in the working methods and staffing of the coaching team, France remains a superpower.