Yet many of the European students - especially the women - come here to learn Arabic and more about Islam, rather than to learn about France or indeed to become imams.
"We want to get the latest from the whole range of people involved in the food chain on what has happened and start to learn the first lessons, " Mr Garot told Agence France Presse.
Major nations such as European champions Germany and France have not even reached this stage and Pearce believes he can learn lessons from their failures and the problems his team has had in qualification.