A French success story achieved while much of the country wasn't watching

Fear, fanfare and a few surprises: by turns the resumption of racing in the first of Europe's "big three" nations was certainly not short of incident, even before the horses took to the lush green expanses of Longchamp last Monday.

The last-minute negotiations between racing authorities and the Elysee Palace seem like another lifetime. So much has happened in the eight days since the drama of late-night phonecalls and presidential decrees.

That is in no small part due to the sheer density of the resumption programme, with France Galop keen to provide maximum opportunity for the newly liberated horse population at a crucial time of year.