Altrad Group ends French national rugby team jersey sponsorship, Digi Mart USA News (France): Since 2017, the French rugby team has been in a partnership with the Altrad Group, a sponsor that appeared on the Blues’ shirt. Next spring, the arrangement will end, as announced by the French industrial group and the French Rugby Federation in two separate statements on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
The group said the decision “marks the end of a fine story begun in March 2017 and ten years that have marked French rugby,” noting that it was the first jersey sponsor in the history of the French national rugby team. The sponsorship contract, originally signed for six years, was extended by two and a half years in 2024 to cover the men’s and women’s senior teams, the men’s and women’s under-20 teams and the sevens teams.
However, the collaboration will end at the close of June, as the Altrad Group’s new offer was not selected for the next jersey sponsorship contract for the national teams, the federation said. “The French Rugby Federation has launched a process to select its future partner from the 2027-2028 season.
As part of this, the FFR informed the Altrad Group that its offer had not been selected,” the federation said, adding that “the selection process continues, with several proposals still under consideration.”
The French Rugby Federation said it wished to “salute and thank the Altrad Group, the first jersey partner in the history of the French national team since 2017.”
The jersey sponsorship was at the center of the conviction of former federation president Bernard Laporte and businessman Mohed Altrad, chief executive of the eponymous group, in December 2022. In its ruling, the Paris criminal court sentenced Laporte to two years in prison, suspended, and a fine of 75,000 euros, while Altrad received 18 months in prison, suspended, and a fine of 50,000 euros.
Both men were accused of a corruption pact that reportedly involved this jersey partnership. They have appealed the ruling and will be retried in March 2027.
Laporte, who had been in charge of the federation since late 2016 and left the post in January 2023, was found guilty of five of the six offenses for which he was prosecuted, including passive corruption and influence peddling.
Although the Altrad name will disappear from the Blues’ jerseys, the group remains involved in national and international rugby. Mohed Altrad is still president of Montpellier, finalist of the most recent Top 14, and the jersey sponsor of the New Zealand All Blacks and Black Ferns through summer 2028.
Founded by Mohed Altrad, the Altrad Group specializes in the production and distribution of equipment for the construction industry. It reported revenue of about 6 billion euros in 2025 and employs 65,000 people.
The group is currently the subject of a preliminary investigation for tax fraud, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office indicated in June.
