France’s trip to the European Championship in Germany has been interspersed with an election campaign in its country in which the far right came close to victory with statements that directly attacked the heart of a team that has made multiculturalism a hallmark. Nor is it the first time that French footballers have decided to confront the Le Pen family: Didier Deschamps did it in the 1990s with Jean-Marie, the founder of the National Front, and Zinedine Zidane did it seven years ago with his daughter and successor, Marine.
And now again. From the beginning of his stay at the Paderborn camp. The next day, June 10, Emmanuel Macron brought forward the elections after the victory of the far right in the European elections the day before. The issue came and went from the appearances and concerns of the coach and the footballers, some as committed as Jules Koundé, who breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday evening after learning the estimates of the first polls for the second round of the legislative elections: “The relief is the same as the concern of the last few weeks, it is immense. Congratulations to all the French people who mobilized so that this beautiful country that is France would not be governed by the far right,” he wrote in X.
Soulagement is at the height of the restlessness of these last weeks, it is immense.
Congratulations to all the French who are mobilized so that this beautiful country that is France does not become governed by the extreme right. 🙏🏾🇫🇷— Jules Kounde (@jkeey4) July 7, 2024
He was not the only one with that feeling, as Adrien Rabiot recounted yesterday about how the group had followed the results of the second round the day before after the far right had won the first round: “Some players have been quite active on social media. We have spoken, and I think there are a lot of people who have felt relieved after the results.”
For example, Aurélien Tchouameni, who celebrated the outcome on X: “The victory of the People,” a message that received supportive responses and also racist attacks, many of them in Spanish. Or Dembélé, who posted two images on Instagram: a smiling photo of himself and the graph of the first polls. Or Marcus Thuram: “Congratulations to those who have responded to the danger that loomed over our beautiful country. Long live diversity, long live the republic, long live France. The fight continues.”
Kylian Mbappé had started it before France’s debut, two weeks before the first round. The new Real Madrid player made a big impact: “I am against extremes, those who divide. There are young people who abstain, I want to get this message across to them. Their voice does change things. I want to be proud to defend a country that represents my values. This is more important than tomorrow’s match.”
His message followed the thread of one by Zidane in 2017, when, as Madrid coach, he used the same terms against Marine Le Pen, something he had already done in 2002: the ideas of the National Front should be avoided and “extremes are never good.” ZZ, of Algerian parents, had been proclaimed world champion in 1998 with a team that made a banner of multiculturalism. The captain was Deschamps, who confronted Le Pen senior when he attacked several players from immigrant families for not singing the anthem.
He was reminded of this in the midst of this uncertain electoral process: “I did it because they directly attacked the players, and as captain I could not allow that. We represent the mix, solidarity, unity, diversity.” Rabiot, of French roots, showed a little more distance yesterday: “Sports and politics do not always mix well. There is a semi-final tomorrow and we have to put politics aside. It was important that the French went to vote, and they have gone almost more than ever. We will see what the future holds.”
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