French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly offered to personally intervene in efforts to keep Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) at the French team, according to Eurosport Spain on April 14.
According to Eurosport, Macron would speak directly with the 19-year-old and his manager Joona Laukka, offering his "total support" to Decathlon CMA CGM as interest from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and other wealthy squads intensifies around the teenager.
Eurosport framed the situation as a matter of state, drawing a parallel with Macron's reported phone call to Kylian Mbappé during the footballer's 2022 PSG contract saga.
The cycling version carries its own nationally symbolic weight: France has not produced a Tour de France winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985, and Seixas is being positioned in the French press as the rider who could end that 41-year drought.
Seixas remains under contract with Decathlon CMA CGM through the end of 2027. However, transfer rumours have abounded, with the young Frenchman being seen as the next potential challenger to the dominant Tadej Pogačar. Social media erupted in speculation when a picture of Seixas shaking hands with Mauro Gianetti, CEO of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, emerged after Strade Bianche, where Seixas finished second.
Gianetti told cyclismactu.net that pairing Seixas with Tadej Pogačar would be "more than a dream," calling the Frenchman "a rider with crystalline talent."
Decathlon CMA CGM appear better equipped to resist than they might have been in previous years. The team's budget is believed to have risen to around €40 million in 2026, and that financial restructuring is aimed at directing more resources toward performance and retention.
Seixas's ascendancy in 2026 has been striking, marked by his dominant victory in the general classification at Itzulia Basque Country in a manner reminiscent of Pogačar's recent seasons. Fellow French rider Julian Alaphilippe has tipped the young rider for further success at big races, arguing "he has the legs, he has the head."
Whether Macron's reported involvement shifts the negotiation dynamics remains unclear. Laukka has said there is no rush and that Seixas will decide when the time is right. The rider's agency sits at the centre of the process regardless of political backing.
The importance of cycling in France couldn't be emphasised more, given the 19-year-old cyclist's future is now being discussed alongside national prestige, state intervention, and the financial arms race at the top of the sport.
Cover image credit: Tony Esnault
