Downpours on Wednesday, after days of gorgeous weather, provided a symbol for the brutal change of atmosphere at Knysna, Western Cape, where the former world champions are preparing for their first game, against Uruguay on Friday in Cape Town.
"What we need today is not a controversy but mobilisation, two days before the kickoff of our first match," France team director Jean-Louis Valentin, obviously aware of all the negative headlines in France, told reporters on Wednesday.
"This case has to be settled internally," Valentin said when asked whether Gallas, who was once a doubtful starter for the finals but seems to have fully recovered from a calf injury, would face sanctions.
"William is very focused on his sporting goals," he added. "Don't count on me to blame him."
"We have made no specific demands in terms of security," he said. "The security around the hotel has been decided by the South African authorities."
"That pitch was not originally intended to become an official training pitch," he said. "The pitch we were planning to train on was allocated to Denmark, and we were then asked (by FIFA) to train on the pitch at the hotel."
"We're in the final straight and we have to concentrate on ourselves and what we have to do," midfielder Jeremy Toulalan told reporters.
