What they could probably do without is more controversy surrounding domestic sport in France, which seems to have gone from one embarrassing episode to the next in recent months. Football, handball and rugby are among those which have been hit by scandals.

Yet another case in which a governing body could quite simply have done better came with how the French Football Federation (FFF) - currently with Philippe Diallo as Interim President after the downfall of Noël Le Graët - has handled calls for brief pauses in matches to allow Muslim players to break their fast during the period of Ramadan, when they abstain from eating or drinking in daylight hours.

During evening football matches, the 90 minutes of action can coincide with sunset, enabling players observing Ramadan to take on fuel in the form of liquids, energy gels or supplements.

For followers of England's Premier League, this has required some games over the last week to make a short stoppage at an appropriate time, for example during the Everton against Tottenham Hotspur fixture on Monday (April 3). 

They have been so innocuous in a sport in which cooling breaks to account for hot and humid conditions have become the norm for nearly a decade, you could be forgiven for barely noticing an interruption.

After Monday's clash at Goodison Park, the talk was all about the needless red card for Everton's French-born Malian international midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré, the pathetic antics of Spurs' England captain Harry Kane in that incident and a blockbuster of a late equaliser for the home side from English centre-back Michael Keane. It was certainly not about the momentary first-half pause permitted by English football's refereeing bodies, which most who watched the match had likely forgotten about.

The Dutch Eredivisie is among the European leagues which has introduced a break for players without hassle for the first time during Ramadan this year.

For the FFF though, it has not proved a simple concession to allow during Ligue 1 matches.

A leaked email from the FFF to the Federal Commission of Referees insisted that such "interruptions do not respect the provisions of the Statutes of the FFF", and should be forbidden.

"Football takes no account of the political, religious, ideological or trade union considerations of its actors," the email said.

It reportedly continued: "A football field, a stadium, a gymnasium, are not places of political or religious expression, they are places of neutrality where values of sport, such as equality, fraternity, impartiality, learning to respect the referee, oneself and others, must prevail."

It is an old favourite trope of sports administrators invoked when it suits them, and has also been used to justify stubbornness and an unwillingness to take a moral stance.

The head of the FFF's Federal Referee Commission Eric Borghini doubled down on the stance, and told Agence France-Presse: "The idea is that there is a time for everything. A time to do sport, a time to practice one’s religion."

Football is a global product, and Ligue 1, like several of Europe's top leagues today, features players from all around the world. It is testament to the worldwide appeal of the sport, and has only enhanced the quality of football on display.

The French men's national team can attest to that given the contribution of numerous players of Muslim faith to its FIFA World Cup successes in 1998 and 2018 and run to the final in Qatar last year. It seems a very small price to pay and small accommodation to make to allow a brief pause in a handful of matches.

Ligue 1, after all, has a clear section in its website outlining procedures for two-minute breaks in the 25^th minute of both halves "when playing conditions call for a cooling break", with 32 degrees Celsius the required temperature for this to kick in.

It is quite baffling as to why the FFF has decided to dig its heels in on this one, and there has been no shortage of criticism towards it for its stance.

The Collectif Ultras Paris, a fan group for league leaders and winners of eight of the last 10 league titles Paris Saint-Germain, made its opposition clear with a banner that read "a date, a glass of water, the nightmare of the FFF" during Sunday's (April 2) defeat to Olympique Lyonnais.

French left-back Lucas Digne, playing for Aston Villa in England, summed it up nicely when he replied to a tweet with the FFF email by stating "2023" with three face-palming emojis.

Marseille's Moroccan international midfielder Amine Harit opted for the same emoji.

Nantes' decision to drop French-born Algerian international Jaouen Hadjam from the squad for the defeat to Stade de Reims after refusing to break his fast sparked particular controversy, with former Senegal striker Demba Ba expressing his outrage.

"Still thinking that fasting in the month of Ramadan is behavioural amazes me. For those who are still wondering, we are talking about the identity side of a person," Ba wrote on Twitter.

"A simple question, is it a good thing to ask someone to put aside their identity?"

Experienced manager Antoine Kombouaré defended his stance, insisting "during the week, there are no problems with fasting players", but they "should not fast" on matchday or would not be selected on the grounds of wanting to avoid injuries.

That was an argument dismissed by Ba.

Doucouré has drawn attention to the contrast in stances either side of the English Channel.

"We feel very confident here, very accepted and everything is in place for Muslim people to enjoy," he told the public broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation.

"In the Premier League you are free to do whatever suits you, they will never do anything against your faith and this is great.

"I was born in France and worked there, but between France and England there is a big difference. English people are a great example.

"Sometimes you have to listen to the people and understand what the faith means to them. It is not a choice - it matters to us to protect our faith 100 per cent.

"I always wanted to be in the Premier League and I want to stay much longer here. It is the best league for Muslims to be in."

The FFF is not alone in the world of sport in its resistance to change, but it is another example of a governing body that needs to move with the times.

The Ramadan controversy is not a good look for French football, particularly at a time when Paris 2024 organisers want to stage a "Games wide open". That is not a criticism of such an ambition, but domestic sport in France needs to align with that stance if it is to hold real meaning in the host nation.