France unveils jerseys for 2026 Winter Olympic hockey tournament

The French national hockey team unveiled its jerseys for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics on Monday and will continue to wear them for the foreseeable future after the Games, as has become tradition for many countries. 

The jerseys, produced by Nike, feature a largely minimalist design: white stripes on a blue base, with the country’s name across the front in red on the home jersey, while the secondary jersey offers the opposite look. 

France’s men’s team returns to the Olympic Games for the first time since Salt Lake City 2002, in part due to Russia’s ban from participating at the 2026 Games. 

While they have not come close to medals in recent games, they finished fifth in three straight Olympic tournaments at Antwerp 1920, Chamonix 1924 and St. Moritz 1928. 

The women, meanwhile, also qualified for the Games under Russia’s ban, and are making their Olympic debut. They have never played in the top division of the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship. 

Last June, France unveiled the first six players on the men’s Olympic roster, with current NHL forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Alexandre Texier headlining the group alongside Jordann Perret, and defensemen Yohann Auvitu, Jules Boscq, and Hugo Gallet.

On the men’s side, France will play in Group A alongside Canada, Czechia and Switzerland

Meanwhile, the women will face Germany, Sweden, Japan and Italy in Group B, with the top three teams advancing to take on Canada, USA, Finland and Czechia, who will play for quarterfinal seeding in Group A. 

The men’s and women’s Olympic hockey tournaments will both be played in Milan, starting Feb. 11 and culminating in the women’s gold medal final on Feb. 19 and the men’s gold medal game on Feb. 22, pre-empting the  Closing Ceremony at the historic Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheatre from 30AD.