It didn’t take long. A hint of extra momentum and Emmanuel Macron held the victory. Hers ? On the evening of the World Cup final in Qatar which escaped the Blues against Argentina, Sunday, December 18, the Head of State hoped that the country would forget for a time the energy crisis, the inflationary shock and the pension reform, considered unfair by a large part of the French, which he plans to launch in January?
The defeat, after an infuriating shootout, did not offer the tenant of the Elysée this carefree joy which would have raised, for a time, the morale of a depressed country. But no matter, seemed to say Emmanuel Macron. The tenor of the match, where the French team seemed absent from the game for the first eighty minutes, before making a spectacular comeback – helped by the three goals of striker Kylian Mbappé and the reinforcement of a young generation of promising footballers – was enough to serve as the allegory dreamed up by the President of the Republic.
This game “says something about who we are”he explained Sunday evening, after the meeting, from the mixed zone of the Lusail stadium, near Doha, describing a team with “of heart and unity” : “That’s the image of France!” » “What this match also tells us is that there is never a scenario written in advance, that it is always possible”concluded Emmanuel Macron, welcoming the unthinkable comeback of the Blues. “It’s resistance and achievement”he pointed out, not hesitating to interfere in the world of football to call on the coach, Didier Deschamps, to remain in office. “I want him to continue”he assured, calling on the person concerned to “to digest” the defeat. A decision which is however the responsibility of the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët.
“Our compatriots need simple and pure joys”
On November 17, before the start of the competition, the Head of State had affirmed that it was not necessary “politicizing sports”. A line aimed at responding to criticism from the opposition on the climate cost of the organization of the World Cup by Qatar and on the human rights situation in this country.
But an untenable attitude for the President of the Republic who claims to be « fan » of football. As he had promised, Mr. Macron traveled to Qatar to follow the matches of the French team from the semi-finals. Since the victory of the Blues against Morocco on December 14, he has invested himself in the competition like a real coach, visiting the players in the locker room at the end of the match. “Our compatriots need simple and pure joys, sport provides it and football in particular”, he explained, after the victorious semi-final. At the time everything was allowed.
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