The future of Formula One racing in France - the country that gave us Grand Prix - has been dealt a further blow with the news that the group behind the bid to stage a race at Euro Disney has now withdrawn the offer.

Yesterday, Euro Disney and the Lagardere Sports group announced that they were withdrawing their bid admitting that much of the required funding could not be secured.

In a joint statement, Euro Disney and the Lagardere Sports group said: "Despite the quality of the dossier put together by the two private partners and the support of Bernie Ecclestone, it proved impossible to reach an agreement with the other parties, which was an essential condition in the development of the project.

"As a result, Lagardere Sports, in accordance with Euro Disney, has decided not to pursue the project to organise the 2010 Formula One French Grand Prix in the Val d'Europe region."

Euro Disney was one of six different projects being considered by the French motorsport federation (FFSA), which previously withdrew its backing of the Magny-Cours event due to lack of funding.

Other than money, the Euro Disney project, which had the backing of F1 legend Alain Prost, was proving unpopular with local residents who held a protest at the weekend objecting to the noise and the impact a race would have on their quality of life.

The Val d'Europe project could have seen a race held as early as 2010, however, yesterday's news means that it could be many more years before France returns to the calendar.

Ecclestone has made no secret of the fact that he would like to see F1 cars on the streets of Paris, however, the locals - never backward when it comes to expressing their feelings - are against the idea.