Pogba and his teammates may be out of Africa but are proud Frenchmen

While France continues to celebrate its victory in the World Cup against the Croatia, the triumphant team The return of the grand prize of football in Paris this week is the subject of debate on national and international identity.

Even before the French victory in Russia last Sunday, much had been done – albeit mostly outside of France – because the majority of the 23 players on the team, including Kylian Mbappé and Paul Pogba, were children of migrants.

Two – Steve Mandanda and Samuel Umtiti – were born outside France, in what was then Zaire and Cameroon, and moved to France as babies. Some African observers have seized this legacy to claim the victory of the Blues as one of their own.

"Finally, Africa won its first World Cup but in the colors of France," tweeted Sunday Oliseh, former coach of the Nigerian national team.

Kenya's Vice President William Ruto had previously declared France "the only African team in the final". The day after the French victory, Trevor Noah, the South African black host of the popular "Daily Show" in the United States, took up the theme, jokingly: "Africa won the World Cup ".

The French ambbadador to Washington, Gérard Araud, is offended and wrote a letter of complaint to Noah. "Calling them an African team, it seems like you are denying their French," wrote Araud. "This, even jokingly, legitimizes the ideology that claims whiteness as the only definition of being French."

Noah responded to the antenna, defending his original comments and objecting to Araud was actually denying the identity of the players. But Araud conveyed what many in France thought were attempts to project a particular type of identity politics onto their victorious national team without adequate contextual knowledge.

In the two decades following France's victory at the World Cup with a team "Black, White, Arab" (black, white, Arabic – a reference to the French tricolor), several politicians and demagogues of the Far right – including the founder of the National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen – questioned the "Frenchness" of the national team because of the color of the players.

Just seven years ago, the French Football Federation was accused of trying to limit the number of players of African descent by applying a quota system in training academies. When the national team was mired in controversy, some of the criticisms of some players included veiled references to their roots abroad.

For many in France, to qualify the French victory as an "African team" is therefore too close to the racist rhetoric of the extreme right that has gained ground in recent years. Emmanuel Macron may have beaten his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen to the presidency but his party got more than 33.9 percent of the vote, setting a new record in the presidential election.

Race and ethnicity remain a taboo in France: none are measured in the census and recently the word "race" has been removed from the constitution. As a result, there is no equivalent in France to cut identities, for example, in the United States.

However, this has created a situation where attempts to discuss racism in France may be too easily closed when the difference is not recognized in the first place.

Former US President Barack Obama was more adroit than Noah by the way He captured the symbolism of the team that brought back the World Cup trophy to France. Speaking at a ceremony in South Africa to commemorate Nelson Mandela, Obama said the adoption of diversity "brings practical benefits, as it ensures that society can leverage talents." , energy and skills of all its members. ask the team from France who just won the World Cup, because all these people do not look like me, but they are French, they are French! "

For their part, those of the France team whose The boisterous return this week included Pogba leading his teammates singing on the steps of the Elysee with Macron radiating – with roots to the # 39, stranger rarely make a number.

Many want to remind their "Frenchness." Pogba regularly shouted "Long live the Republic, Long live France!" At press conferences and receptions since the weekend triumph last

Meanwhile, Mbappé, whose name now adorns T-shirts and other memorabilia with the slogan "Liberty, Equality, Mbappé!" announced that he would donate his World Cup fees to charities because, he says, it's an honor to play for his national team.

In a France grappling with several challenges, including the threat of the far right, celebrating "Frenchness "of the winning team of the World Cup can be a riposte fanatics, but it should not obscure difficult questions about racism at home.

Irish Independent