The political situation in France even affects Euro 2024 football. Saturday, for the first time, a player from the French team took a clear position against the National Rally. “We must fight so that the RN does not pass,” insisted Marcus Thuram regarding the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7.
Until now, all the Blues interviewed had simply called for a vote, without getting involved any further. From Olivier Giroud to Ousmane Dembélé via Benjamin Pavard, Didier Deschamps’ troops had asked the French to fulfill their civic duty, and nothing more.
For Thuram, “the situation is sad, very serious”
But the son of Lilian Thuram, 1998 world champion known for his anti-racist commitment, went much further, not hesitating to break the neutrality displayed by his teammates. The 26-year-old Inter Milan striker, present at a press conference in Paderborn in Germany two days before the French team’s entry into Euro-2024 against Austria, did not is not hidden and responded clearly and without convolutions to questions about the upcoming electoral deadline.
“I think the situation is sad, very serious,” he told the media. I learned about it (the RN’s victory in the Europeans) after the match against Canada (Sunday). We were all a little shocked in the locker room. We must tell everyone to go and vote, to fight on a daily basis so that the RN does not pass. »
Thuram then did not hesitate to gently tackle his teammates. “It’s not enough to say that we have to go and vote, we have to explain how we got there,” he said, pointing to the role of the media: “I’m not going to quote any broadcast in particular but when I turn on my TV, I tell myself that it is done for the rise of the RN to arrive. »
The FFF “very attached to freedom of expression”
The striker then qualified his remarks somewhat, indicating that he had “no doubt about the fact that everyone thinks like (him) in the France team”. “Growing up with my father, I feel a responsibility to keep this kind of message,” he noted.
A few hours after this outing, the French Football Federation also entered the debate to above all call for… an exit from the debate. She asked to “avoid any form of pressure and political use of the French team”. Saying itself “very attached to freedom of expression”, the FFF explained in a press release that it “joins the necessary call to vote” but “wants its neutrality to be understood and respected by all (…) as well than that of selection. »
