During a press conference this Sunday, Kylian Mbappé voted “against the extremes” in the legislative elections. This position divides, between those who welcome the act of a citizen and those who only expect from him his involvement on the ground.
Two weeks before the legislative elections, Kylian Mbappé came out of silence. The captain of the Blues followed in the footsteps of Marcus Thuram by speaking this Sunday, June 16, during a press conference, on the political situation in the country.
The day before the Blues entered the Euro, the striker called on young people to vote, citing an emergency for the country. “I want to be proud to wear this jersey on July 7,” says the player, referring to the date of the second round of the election.
“I don’t want to represent a country that doesn’t correspond to our values. I think and I hope that we are all in the same situation. I often say that we should not mix politics and football, I I agree when it concerns trifles, but, in situations like this, it is very important,” he adds.
The French player was supported by Didier Deschamps, who also considers his athletes as citizens who can express themselves freely with their words.
Words that divide
However, this position is not unanimous. The gesture was initially welcomed by the majority. On BFMTV, the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti was delighted. “It’s good that we want to mobilize young people. We complain that young people no longer vote or don’t vote enough and here is someone who is followed by young people who decides to say what he can say, because he is a citizen”, declared the Minister of Justice.
Others take a dim view of the player’s comments on this election. Starting with members of the National Rally, who believe that Kylian Mbappé is fracturing the country.
Among supporters, the subject also divides. “It spoils the party a little. We want him to score goals, to defend the jersey and not to praise so-and-so,” explains one of them on the microphone of RMC.
“She’s a very publicized person so it shocks me,” says Sophie, a listener. While Jean-Marie, 60, says he is worried and describes “an influencer” with an “oversized aura”, believing that this is “a power that can influence an election” and that “this is not ‘is not normal.’
Séverine, 52, believes that this position is legitimate. “He does not have a role, he is a French citizen as such, he has the right to give his opinion,” she recalls. Before putting his words into perspective: “A few years ago, when Mr. Le Pen made fun because there were blacks in our French team, I understand that players like Thuram or Mbappé feel concerned and say to themselves that people like that are a legacy of Le Pen and don’t want it,” she concludes.
The myth of the apoliticism of sport
Kylian Mbappé’s personal position relaunches a debate on the dissociation or not of sport and politics. Following the results of the European elections, and in the face of the legislative elections which are fast approaching, the newspaper L’Equipe published an article in which 160 athletes called to vote against the far right.
If this type of approach bothers some people, it is because of a political neutrality which has long been expected of professional players, all disciplines combined.
“This duty of neutrality is linked to this myth of the apoliticism of sport which is completely false: sport has always been political. And, by definition, the captain of the Blues has a responsibility, it is also to wear this jersey and we cannot take away his right to express himself as a citizen,” indicates Jean-Baptiste Guégan, professor at Sciences Po Paris.
The specialist, also author of The sports war and of Mbappé revolutionconsiders this position “interesting”, especially for a young millionaire man who will soon fly to Madrid.
He adds: “His level of wealth, his social extraction and everything else are pretexts. He has every right to express himself and, given the threat, we can understand why he is investing.”
