Lilian Thuram’s (52 years old) frank opinion on Aya Nakamura at the Olympics: “It’s serious, and…

TMC (DR) / France TV (DR)

By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist

Like many of Emmanuel Macron’s choices, his decision to make Aya Nakamura the star of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games has sparked a strong division within the French population. And while the singer has received support and criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, Lilian Thuram, acdecided to put my foot in the door.

He is back in the news. Always inclined to speak out on societal issues that are close to his heart, and this despite his past scandals that his detractors regularly remind him of (he had been accused of domestic violence by Karine Le Marchand, editor’s note), Lilian Thuram is raised against the RN in recent days. On “France Inter”, he thus estimated:

People who have this violence within them express it freely today and it is extremely dangerous. Imagine tomorrow when they are in power… We have to take things seriously. Some media normalize racist discourse. There is also that of certain politicians who legitimize the discourse of the National Front. That’s the reality. We say to ourselves: “How is it possible to live in a country where we will violate people based on their origins or their skin color? »

Lilian Thuram steps up to the plate for Aya Nakamura

In Thuram, the racial prism is very present. After the consecration of the Blues in 1998, he had also insisted that a photo be taken with only black players – an initiative that had disconcerted several of his teammates, including Frank Leboeuf. It was therefore quite natural that the former right-back considered on France Iinfo that the subject of skin color was central to the “Aya Nakamura at the Olympics” affair, which has been shaking up the media space for many months:

We just have to be lucid, there is racism in France. To question this artist is just not knowing how much she is respected in the world and we should all be proud.

And when it was brought to Thuram’s attention that 63% of French people, according to an RTL survey, did not want the presence of Aya Nakamura because she would not sufficiently embody French music in their eyes, the champion of the world and Europe invites us to reverse the prism:

If you ask the question: “Do you have to have the most famous French singer in the world sing for the Olympics?”, I think most people will say yes. And since she is the best, she deserves to represent France.

Furious at the illegitimacy trial that was brought against Aya Nakamura, Thuram insists that the situation is serious, and deeply tinged with racism. He thus concluded, disappointed:

We are talking about a world star. It feels like we are talking about a little artist who comes from the suburbs. That is what is extremely serious and extremely contemptuous.

There is no doubt in Lilian Thuram’s mind: the fact that a majority of French people do not want Aya Nakamura to be the star of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics cannot be explained by musical considerations, but quite simply by racism. An opinion loud and clear by the former footballer, always as adept at speaking out.