Can French ski racing return on top?

Recently a French friend of mine told me he was writing a story about the (short-lived) past glory of the French ski team and how it might eventually resurface based on the fact that France has consistently been among the top ski country in the world in terms of annual ski visits and should hold the largest and most impressive reservoir of ski talent, when compared to say, Austria.

My quick analysis is that the Austria ski machine is a highly disciplined one and is probably sticking to a ski racer production process that generates results and is consistently unmatched by its Alpine counterparts.

Austria is the Toyota of ski racing. France's success was more like a creative accident, a flash in the pan that happened because of Honoré Bonnet's unorthodox and maverick leadership style at a time when other ski federation programs were not that sophisticated.

Could that be recreated? It's quite unlikely, because the French Ski Federation has become more ossified, bureaucratic and far less innovative. It's reacting more like General Motors and internal politics remain the largest obstacle to change and evolution, with members that prioritize individualism over collaboration, unlike the Toyota model that works hand-in-hand with a highly disciplined work force.

That's my short and easy take.