French is supposed to be the language of love, but no one seems to have told Raymond Domenech. The hapless France coach made a fool of himself on Tuesday by proposing to his partner live on television after his team had been eliminated from Euro 2008 and things went from mal to worse yesterday when she appeared to turn down his proposal.

Estelle Denis, a glamorous TV presenter, who is the object of Domenech's affection and the mother of his two children, has been keeping a dignified silence since she was embarrassed by his proposal, but according to her colleagues she is less than impressed by his cack-handed attempt at un geste romantique.

With his job on the line after France's calamitous tournament - Thierry Henry and Co scored once in three games and finished bottom of group C - Domenech was forced to apologise yesterday for his bizarre behaviour. “Forgive me, it was an error in communication,” he said. “I felt a moment of humanity when I should have stayed cold and professional. Behind my outer shell, I felt the need to tell people that I loved them.”

It takes a lot to shock in a country where people turn a blind eye when the President marries a former model, but the French were up in arms when Domenech was interviewed on TV after France lost 2-0 to Italy on Tuesday evening.

“I have only one project, which is to marry Estelle,” Domenech replied when asked by a reporter about his future. “It's good to tell someone that you love them.”

A meeting of the French football federation on July 3 will determine whether Domenech keeps his job. In the meantime, every Jean, Claude and Jacques is wondering why he was appointed in the first place. After all, this is the man who thought it would be a good idea to go to Switzerland without Mathieu Flamini, David Trezeguet, Philippe Mexès and Gaël Clichy.

The man who looked like a 12-year-old schoolboy in the dugout because the French federation made him wear a ridiculous grey-and-blue blazer. The man who gazes at the stars and reads tarot cards to look into the future. And the man whose girlfriend gave him the cold shoulder after he proposed to her on TV. Didn't see that one coming, did we, Raymond?