And that’s two. After Germany, another major fencing nation has decided to cancel a stage of the World Cup, in reaction to the decision of the international federation (FIE) to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes. The French Fencing Federation (FFE) announced in a press release on Friday, March 31, that it will not organize the Monal Challenge, one of the stages of the World Cup of Epee. The tournament was scheduled from May 19 to 21 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (Val-de-Marne), in the Paris region. It counted for qualification for the Paris 2024 Games. “Not being able to honor the requests of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) relating to the reception of Russian and Belarusian athletes (…), the French Fencing Federation regrets to announce the cancellation of the 2023 edition of the Monal Challenge, explains the statement. Sports and government institutions, such as the municipality of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, are informed of this decision.” This cancellation follows the German Fencing Federation’s renunciation to organize its stage of the Women’s Foil World Cup, originally scheduled from May 5 to 7 in Tauberbischofsheim.
