French rugby’s summer saga will play out on a video call. Summoned on Friday 7 August at 9.30am before the appeals committee of the FFR (the French Rugby Federation), Nissa Rugby will find out during the day whether it plays in Pro D2, won on the pitch, or in Fédérale, where the financial watchdog sent it. The story of a case in which sporting merit now counts for little against bank guarantees.

Promotion won on the pitch, thrown out on paper

On the field, Nice had done the job: according to our data, 21 wins in 29 matches last season in Nationale, capped by a promotion play-off won 31-26 against Mont-de-Marsan on 31 May. But on 24 July the regulatory authority (A2R, formerly the DNACG), which polices club finances, refused to admit the club to Pro D2, for lack of sufficient guarantees on the 2026-2027 budget. The sanction is heavy: relegation to the federal divisions, five points deducted in the standings of the championship it plays in, and a 40,000 euro fine. The club appealed both decisions on 31 July.

The numbers still do not add up

The A2R is asking for around 4.6 million euros in guarantees. Outgoing president Jean-Baptiste Aldigé has committed 2.5 million through his company Sport Inside Europe, the majority shareholder. That leaves around 2 million, which the city council was originally supposed to cover. But Éric Ciotti has set his limit on Ici Azur: “We have gone to the maximum of the effort we can make. We are ready to put 3.5 million euros into Nissa Rugby.” The mayor of Nice, who points to the 10 million promised for a 1,400-seat stand by September 2027, is asking in return for “an effort on certain outsized salaries at the club”.

A weekend to turn things around

The mediation entrusted to Jean-Pierre Rivère, the former OGC Nice president with little familiarity with the economics of rugby, has made little progress. In the end it was direct contact between Éric Ciotti and Louis-Vincent Gave, the majority shareholder, that reopened the door. On Sunday, the mayor sought to reassure on X: “I am delighted by the extremely positive nature of our discussions, which give hope of a favourable outcome for our rugby club and for our city.”

“Today, we are afraid”

In the meantime, the players are living with the uncertainty, as they put it in their statement of 30 July: “Afraid that in a few days everything stops. Afraid of having to tell our families that we have to leave, sometimes at short notice, sometimes without knowing where we will be playing tomorrow.” The verdict could come as soon as Friday. According to Nice-Matin, if the appeal fails the club will not take the case to the CNOSF, the French national Olympic and sports committee: the FFR and the LNR, French rugby’s professional league, want the file closed by 15 August. Pro D2 or Fédérale, there will be no third way.