( CNN ) -- Laurent Blanc stood down as coach of the French national team Saturday in the wake of their quarterfinal exit at Euro 2012 . A statement on the French Football Federation ( FFF ) website confirmed he would not be renewing his contract after two years in charge of Les Bleus . The FFF said Blanc had contacted their president , Noel Le Graet , to inform him of the decision . The executive committee of the FFF will meet Tuesday to begin their hunt for a successor ahead of the qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . The 46-year-old Blanc took over from the much criticized Raymond Domenech after the disastrous French showing in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where a player strike and an exit at the group stages proved a national humiliation . The former Bordeaux coach , who was a key player in France 's 1998 World Cup triumph and their victory at the 2000 European championships , appeared to have restored their fortunes going into Euro 2012 . But an unbeaten 23-match run was ended with a 2-0 defeat to Sweden in their final group match , leaving them to face defending champions Spain in the quarterfinals . Reports of a dressing room row after that defeat was hardly the best preparation for the last eight clash which ended in another 2-0 reverse . Manchester City 's Samir Nasri reacted angrily to that setback in media interviews and he is facing disciplinary action by the FFF . Blanc 's departure has followed , having survived a scandal in April 2011 when he allegedly favored the introduction of race quotas on the number of dual nationality players at France 's national youth training centers . He was exonerated of any wrong-doing after appearing before a joint hearing of the FFF and the French Sports Ministry , but he faced criticism from ex-teammates Lilian Thuram and Patrick Vieira . Former Lyon coach Paul Le Guen and Didier Deschamps , a former French captain , have been touted as possible successors to Blanc , who is set to return to club management .
Laurent Blanc stands down as coach of French national team . French federation announce he will not be renewing his contract . France suffer a tame quarterfinal exit to Spain at Euro 2012 . Reports of rifts in management echoes of disastrous 2010 World Cup results .