French Olympic Committee chief steps down ahead of Games

French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) president Brigitte Henriques has resigned a little over a year before the Paris 2024 Summer Games, the CNOSF said on Thursday.

"At the opening of the CNOSF general assembly held today at the Maison du Sport Français, Brigitte Henriques announced her decision to step down as president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee," the CNOSF said in a statement.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will be held from July 26-August 11.

Henriques had asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to launch an internal audit of the CNOSF amid a long-standing row with former general secretary Didier Seminet.

Henriques returned to her position last December following two months sick leave after accusing Seminet of "psychological violence".

Seminet has denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against Henriques.

The CNOSF is not related to the Paris 2024 organising committee.

"Astrid Guyart, general secretary of the CNOSF, will assume the presidency ... during this transitional period and will have to organise a Board of Directors that will elect a president from among its members within the next three months," the statement added.

"Brigitte Henriques calls on all members of the sports movement to remain mobilised on the essential and paramount objective: the full success of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024."

Henriques had also been at odds with her predecessor Denis Masseglia, with her lawyer, Arash Derambarsh, saying last month that she and the CNOSF had been targeted by a campaign of "destabilisation, false information and lies".

"I would like to sincerely thank and salute Brigitte Henriques for her commitment to French sport. For the past two years, she has been at Paris 2024's side at all times," Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet said in a statement sent to Reuters.

"Today, one year before the Games, I call for collective responsibility. It is urgent to find a climate of peace and stability so that the sport movement is at the heart of the success of the Games."