Onesta, who coached the French men's handball team to the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 titles, has been criticised by national technical directors (DTNs) from a number of sports who reference "a climate of tension" and a "total breach of trust", L’Equipe reports.

"We must realise the climate of tension that can exist between us and Claude Onesta and the ANS," said one of 34 DTNs who have spoken to AFP on condition of anonymity.

"It is not going well at all.

"The current situation no longer passes."

Another contributor asserted: "The breach of trust is total with the DTN."

One of the main causes of dissatisfaction among the DTNs is over the way the ANS - which has a budget of nearly €460 million (£393 million/$514 million) this year - distributes the funds to the federations.

"We have differences of opinion with him, on how the money is distributed," said another DTN.

"Some only had their 2023 budget at the beginning of July - it's nonsense."

Regarding the allocation of funds related to the performance contract, a DTN commented:

"There are also these arbitrary decisions that fall without explanation.

"Some DTNs have learned by email of a decrease in their budget."

Onesta, who also led the French men’s team to three world and three European titles during his period of charge from 2001 to 2016, told AFP that he believed the criticisms concerned only a few sports federations.

"I've never been seized with any problem, I have no problem with DTNs," he said.

"If some of them are not necessarily happy, I invite them to come to see me to talk to me, my door is always open.

"Decisions are taken collegiately, I am not alone.

"It's a fantasy to believe that I decide everything.

"I can understand that when certain decisions do not go their way, it creates discontent.

"But that is our role."

The President of the DTN Association, Ludovic Roye, told L’Equipe he did not wish to comment "for the moment".

Onesta has held his current position since the ANS was established in 2019 in a bid to improve the country's performance at the Paris 2024 Games.

The intention was to give more autonomy to national governing bodies and take away decision-making power from the Ministry of Sport.

This is the latest outbreak of dissension within French sports administration in the run-up to Paris 2024.

On June 29, David Lappartient was confirmed as the new President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), which was plunged into crisis earlier this year when Bridget Henriques, the first woman to lead the organisation, announced she was stepping down to end a turbulent two-year spell in charge.

This included a bitter feud with Didier Séminet who was axed as secretary general following a vote last October.

The decision of Henriques to quit at the CNOSF General Assembly followed a claim by her predecessor Denis Masseglia that she was "no longer up to the challenge".

In the wake of similar disruptive governance crises within the national football, rugby union and handball federations, the French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra announced in March that she would be setting up a national committee to help strengthen ethics in sport.

In a column for French newspaper Le Monde, Oudéa-Castéra revealed that a national committee was due to be established and tasked with the responsibility of ensuring governance in sports is "more ethical, more democratic and more protective of practitioners".