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When Even Soccer Divides the French When Even Soccer Divides the French
(1 day later)
PARIS — I must confess: French people can go crazy over soccer but I am not one of them. To me, the best part of the game on television is when the players run onto the field and I can check out the weird haircuts. The next 90 minutes are quite baffling. What I find fascinating, though, about French soccer is what is going on off the field.PARIS — I must confess: French people can go crazy over soccer but I am not one of them. To me, the best part of the game on television is when the players run onto the field and I can check out the weird haircuts. The next 90 minutes are quite baffling. What I find fascinating, though, about French soccer is what is going on off the field.
From Friday to July 10, France is hosting the Euro 2016 championship soccer tournament. With so much misery cascading over the country, from terrorist attacks to strikes and floods, one might have expected the French to rally behind their team, Les Bleus, and push them to victory. This would be so uplifting. Remember 1998?From Friday to July 10, France is hosting the Euro 2016 championship soccer tournament. With so much misery cascading over the country, from terrorist attacks to strikes and floods, one might have expected the French to rally behind their team, Les Bleus, and push them to victory. This would be so uplifting. Remember 1998?
Few recent events bring such fond collective memories here as the victory by Les Bleus at the World Cup that year. Among the heroes fêted on the Champs Élysées were a son of Algerian immigrants, the Marseille-born Zinédine Zidane, and his black teammates Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly. A sign saying “Zidane président” was flashed on the Arc de Triomphe; somebody coined the phrase “Black, Blanc, Beur” (Black, White, Arab) to describe the French team, a play on “Bleu, Blanc, Rouge,” like its flag. Suddenly, the whole country looked united and confident behind its victorious multicolor team.Few recent events bring such fond collective memories here as the victory by Les Bleus at the World Cup that year. Among the heroes fêted on the Champs Élysées were a son of Algerian immigrants, the Marseille-born Zinédine Zidane, and his black teammates Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly. A sign saying “Zidane président” was flashed on the Arc de Triomphe; somebody coined the phrase “Black, Blanc, Beur” (Black, White, Arab) to describe the French team, a play on “Bleu, Blanc, Rouge,” like its flag. Suddenly, the whole country looked united and confident behind its victorious multicolor team.
But the legacy of 1998 proved too much to handle. Mere days before Euro 2016’s kickoff in Paris, the French team was struggling not only with injuries but also with a calamitous dispute over its ethnic composition. Angry about being left out of the French squad, striker Karim Benzema, who was born in Lyon to immigrant parents from Algeria and became Real Madrid’s star player, told the Spanish magazine Marca that the French coach Didier Deschamps had “bowed to the pressure of a racist part of France.” He referred to “an extremist party,” obviously the National Front.But the legacy of 1998 proved too much to handle. Mere days before Euro 2016’s kickoff in Paris, the French team was struggling not only with injuries but also with a calamitous dispute over its ethnic composition. Angry about being left out of the French squad, striker Karim Benzema, who was born in Lyon to immigrant parents from Algeria and became Real Madrid’s star player, told the Spanish magazine Marca that the French coach Didier Deschamps had “bowed to the pressure of a racist part of France.” He referred to “an extremist party,” obviously the National Front.
Eric Cantona, a former Bleus star and Manchester United player, told The Guardian that Deschamps, “who has a really French name,” left out Benzema and another player, Hatem Ben Arfa, because “they have some origins,” a reference to their North African heritage. The popular French actor Jamel Debbouze, slightly more subtle, suggested that such under-representation of players from disenfranchised “banlieues” would demoralize their youth.Eric Cantona, a former Bleus star and Manchester United player, told The Guardian that Deschamps, “who has a really French name,” left out Benzema and another player, Hatem Ben Arfa, because “they have some origins,” a reference to their North African heritage. The popular French actor Jamel Debbouze, slightly more subtle, suggested that such under-representation of players from disenfranchised “banlieues” would demoralize their youth.
In today’s political context, these are incendiary remarks. Many were quick to argue that racism could not be the issue, since the French Euro 2016 squad includes several leading black players. In fact, such allegations are even more poisonous, since they point to many other divisions in French society, social as well as cultural. Once again, Les Bleus are seen as a mirror of the society they come from. What the mirror shows is that “Black, Blanc, Beur” turned out to be a myth, just as the beauty of “Je suis Charlie,” after the January 2015 attacks in Paris was ruined by a surge of dissent: “Je ne suis pas Charlie.”In today’s political context, these are incendiary remarks. Many were quick to argue that racism could not be the issue, since the French Euro 2016 squad includes several leading black players. In fact, such allegations are even more poisonous, since they point to many other divisions in French society, social as well as cultural. Once again, Les Bleus are seen as a mirror of the society they come from. What the mirror shows is that “Black, Blanc, Beur” turned out to be a myth, just as the beauty of “Je suis Charlie,” after the January 2015 attacks in Paris was ruined by a surge of dissent: “Je ne suis pas Charlie.”
Though Deschamps, himself a member of the celebrated “Black, Blanc, Beur” 1998 team, has wisely stayed silent, several of his players have spoken out in his defense. Benzema is involved in a court case, accused of trying to blackmail a teammate with a sex tape, and his bad boy image has certainly not helped him. After several devastating incidents for the image of French soccer, including a players’ strike during the 2010 World Cup and a behind-closed-doors discussion among soccer federation officials about ethnic quotas in 2011, Deschamps was determined to bring back discipline in the team and focus on the game, particularly with France as the host country. No troublemakers allowed this time, however talented. The public seemed to support him; polls showed an overwhelming majority in favor of keeping Benzema out.Though Deschamps, himself a member of the celebrated “Black, Blanc, Beur” 1998 team, has wisely stayed silent, several of his players have spoken out in his defense. Benzema is involved in a court case, accused of trying to blackmail a teammate with a sex tape, and his bad boy image has certainly not helped him. After several devastating incidents for the image of French soccer, including a players’ strike during the 2010 World Cup and a behind-closed-doors discussion among soccer federation officials about ethnic quotas in 2011, Deschamps was determined to bring back discipline in the team and focus on the game, particularly with France as the host country. No troublemakers allowed this time, however talented. The public seemed to support him; polls showed an overwhelming majority in favor of keeping Benzema out.
Yes, polls! In the run-up to Euro 2016, this became “une affaire d’état,” with politicians and intellectuals joining the fray. President François Hollande decided to spend last Sunday evening with the French team at its training center. “These debates are not useful; what matters is the team,” he warned during a radio broadcast just before the visit. “One is chosen to join the French team because he is a good player, not because he comes from a particular region or a particular origin. This is the team of the whole nation. It must focus on the competition. It not only must play the best soccer, it also acts as a role model.”Yes, polls! In the run-up to Euro 2016, this became “une affaire d’état,” with politicians and intellectuals joining the fray. President François Hollande decided to spend last Sunday evening with the French team at its training center. “These debates are not useful; what matters is the team,” he warned during a radio broadcast just before the visit. “One is chosen to join the French team because he is a good player, not because he comes from a particular region or a particular origin. This is the team of the whole nation. It must focus on the competition. It not only must play the best soccer, it also acts as a role model.”
Unwittingly, the president touched on a crucial issue. The French and their leader, while definitely imperfect, expect their soccer team not only to play excellent soccer, but also to be perfect. We want this team to be ethnically mixed, but we don’t want to hear about ethnicity. We want the players to sing the “Marseillaise” and honor the flag, while we know that this flag is under attack in many neighborhoods. We value a system that makes players multimillionaires overnight, but they should not behave as spoiled brats. We avidly follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Periscope, but we ask them to watch their words (“Me, unpopular?” asked Benzema. “But I have 40 million followers!”). We hate identity politics, but we demand that this team reflect our identity.Unwittingly, the president touched on a crucial issue. The French and their leader, while definitely imperfect, expect their soccer team not only to play excellent soccer, but also to be perfect. We want this team to be ethnically mixed, but we don’t want to hear about ethnicity. We want the players to sing the “Marseillaise” and honor the flag, while we know that this flag is under attack in many neighborhoods. We value a system that makes players multimillionaires overnight, but they should not behave as spoiled brats. We avidly follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Periscope, but we ask them to watch their words (“Me, unpopular?” asked Benzema. “But I have 40 million followers!”). We hate identity politics, but we demand that this team reflect our identity.
Thuran, the former champion, who has set up a foundation to fight racism, reckons that Benzema and black players “must be more exemplary than others; it is unfair, but they have to understand that this is the society they live in.” In fact, we don’t want the team to be a mirror of our postcolonial society, with its travails; we want it to mirror an ideal society. Thuram, the former champion, who has set up a foundation to fight racism, reckons that Benzema and black players “must be more exemplary than others; it is unfair, but they have to understand that this is the society they live in.” In fact, we don’t want the team to be a mirror of our postcolonial society, with its travails; we want it to mirror an ideal society.
This is asking a bit too much. What about sport? Yes, when you want a team to be able to concentrate on its game without being distracted, it may make sense to keep bad boys with 40 million followers out of it. If the French can finally accept that Les Bleus need not be Sorbonne-educated elite intellectuals, nor arithmetically represent every single component of our identity, then who knows? Maybe they can just become a great soccer team again. And win that blasted Euro 2016.This is asking a bit too much. What about sport? Yes, when you want a team to be able to concentrate on its game without being distracted, it may make sense to keep bad boys with 40 million followers out of it. If the French can finally accept that Les Bleus need not be Sorbonne-educated elite intellectuals, nor arithmetically represent every single component of our identity, then who knows? Maybe they can just become a great soccer team again. And win that blasted Euro 2016.