Critics on Thursday accused the French government of overreacting after immigrant youths booed the national anthem at a soccer match against Tunisia, as the country simmered with outrage over the incident.
“Indignation!” “An affair of state!” splashed newspaper front pages, while a poll in Le Parisien showed 80 percent of people were “shocked” to see the Paris Stade de France erupt into jeers at Tuesday’s game against Tunisia.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government issued a stark warning to soccer fans on Wednesday, saying it would call off future games if the “Marseillaise” is jeered again, amid a chorus of outrage from the political establishment.
But critics dismissed the idea as unworkable and dangerous.
“At what point do you stop the match? After 1,000 jeers, 5,000, 10,000?” asked opposition Socialist deputy Elisabeth Guigou, while a spokesman for European soccer’s governing body UEFA, William Gaillard, called it unrealistic.
“If you stop a game after the national anthem is jeered, there is no doubt there will be violence in the stadium and across the area,” warned the pro-government le Figaro newspaper.
Three years after the riots in France’s poor city suburbs, the case revived concerns that many second and third-generation immigrants from north Africa still feel excluded from mainstream society.
Similar incidents marred French games against Algeria in 2001 and Morocco last year, when large parts of the crowd jeered the “Marseillaise.”
“Yeah, I whistled,” 15-year-old Eldeterr — the rapper’s stage name — was quoted as telling the left-wing newspaper Liberation. “And I’ll tell you why — I can’t love a country that doesn’t love us back.”
But France’s housing minister Fadela Amara, who is of north African origin, said the behavior cast “shame on their parents” and the 5 million-strong Muslim community, and demanded “exemplary” punishment.
“Enough talking about social malaise and the problems with integration. We have to stop finding excuses for them,” she told Le Parisien.
Officials have opened a judicial inquiry for “outrage” against the national anthem or flag — in theory an offense punishable by a hefty fine and up to six months in jail under a 2003 law that has never been applied.
Liberation said the “overblown indignation of certain ministers ... borders on the ridiculous.”
Malek Boutih, a senior Socialist official and former head of SOS Racism, also accused politicians of “overplaying” their outrage.
“It’s true some symbols of the republic are not too popular in the suburbs. But politicians would make better use of their intelligence by focusing on the economic crisis instead of this marginal case,” Boutih said.
When France won the 1998 World Cup, the immigrant suburbs poured onto the Champs Elysees to celebrate, cheering and wrapped in the national flag, he pointed out.
Meanwhile critics poured scorn on Junior Sports Minister Bernard Laporte for suggesting France should no longer play north African teams at home.
“Absurd, ridiculous,” said Guigou, who urged the government to “keep things in proportion.”
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
RSS