Emmanuel Macron tried for a long time to comfort the Blues after their defeat against Argentina in the final of the World Cup in Qatar, Sunday December 18, 2022. A role which was not his and which was much criticized.
He was seen everywhere and his face as closed as that of the Blues. Emmanuel Macron, present in the stands this Sunday, December 18 during the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, watched crestfallen as the Blues lost to Argentina. It is with this sad air that the President of the French Republic, who is known to be animated by the round ball, joined Didier Deschamps’ players on the lawn, beaten down by a defeat that was difficult to digest after two equalizers and a penalty shootout. goal. The images of the head of state trying in vain to comfort the Habs, and especially Kylian Mbappé – man of the match on the French side thanks to a hat-trick -, are numerous: on the ground, on the podium and even in the locker room.
On several occasions, Emmanuel Macron slipped encouraging words into the ear of the 24-year-old striker without succeeding in obtaining a smile from the top scorer of the 2022 World Cup. And even in front of the press, the politician praised the player English: “Mbappé is a very great player but he is young, I told him that he was only 24 years old. What do you want me to tell you: he was top scorer in this Cup, he is an extraordinary player, he has already won a World Cup, he made a final.” But in his somewhat disjointed emotional speech, Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the bitterness of defeat: “I’m not the best at reasoning with people tonight, because I’m at least as sad as him. “
“I saw people so sad”
Emmanuel Macron also took a few moments to give the measure of the pain of the players of the France team at the end of the match. “I told the players that they made us very proud and in the end we lost a football match, we went to nothing. That’s sport. But I’ve seen people so sad. It’s sport too. I congratulate the Argentine team, it’s a very great sporting people, a very great footballing people. Here, there are times, we win legendary matches, at the shots on goal, we won some, we won some too. […] It makes us sad, but we can be proud of our team, it’s very rare, having won a Cup, to come back, go to the final phase and almost win “.
Emmanuel Macron therefore went to the locker room of the France team after the long minutes spent on the Lusail pitch. A moment during which the President of the Republic reminded the players that they “made us immensely proud”. “You have made millions of French men and women dream, you have played great football”, launched the Head of State, giving the impression of stepping out of his role to almost adopt that of coach, next to a Didier Deschamps with a closed face and facing the extinguished players. And the politician added: “The lessons you will learn, there will undoubtedly be regrets after this match but […] you are a great team! So there you go, tonight it’s going to be tough but tomorrow we’re going to attack again because that’s how we win them.”
Emmanuel Macron’s insistent and unwelcome consolations?
On the field, on the podium, in the locker room and finally in front of the press. Emmanuel Macron missed no opportunity to console the players of the France team after the defeat in the penalty shootout. “Congratulations to the France team for its journey and its combativeness in this World Cup. You have thrilled the Nation and the supporters of the whole world”, repeated the Head of State on Twitter, briefly congratulating Argentina for their victory. The politician preferred to dwell at length on the exploits of the Blues: “We were very far at the end of the first period. It has already happened, there have been comebacks like that but it is very rare in the history of football. We recovered tremendously. It’s extraordinary what Mbappé did, but the whole team. We were hungry again. I believed in it immensely. Afterwards, we performed a second miracle by coming back from nowhere . And we had the match point.”
Emmanuel Macron’s speeches and attentions appeared insistent in the eyes of viewers and Internet users who saw in the President of the Republic’s attempts to comfort the Blues of political recovery or a strategy to improve his image. Others simply believe that the Head of State has done too much and interfered in the team at a time when the players would have preferred to stay among themselves in the privacy of the locker room and those who lacked just a second consecutive coronation as world champions. Internet users want proof of this in the stoic face of Kylian Mbappé in the images of Emmanuel Macron’s hugs towards the French striker. “Kylian Mbappé is uncomfortable with Macron’s forced approach, which is just trying to play on his image. There is no exchange, reciprocity, emotions…”, writes a user in a tweet spotted by The voice of the North. Didier Deschamps was no more demonstrative towards the French president, the coaches like his players were not in a talkative mood.
Emmanuel Macron would therefore have shown himself too much after the World Cup final, at least after a defeat. But other Internet users on the contrary welcome the presence of the Head of State with the players even without a victory at the end of the match.
Emmanuel Macron out of his role and criticized by the opposition
It is not only among Internet users and football fans that Emmanuel Macron’s intrusion into the defeat of the Blues has been badly received. It is also the whole political sphere, already very critical of the World Cup and the visit of the Head of State to Qatar, who viewed with mockery the speeches and the accolades of the President of the Republic. The scene was “ridiculous” for the deputy of the National Rally, Sébastien Chenu, guest of LCI this Monday, December 19, who ruled that the Head of State “was not [à] his place”: “It was a bit appalling to see him, yesterday, trying to cling like a crampon to Mbappé.” On the left, it is the discomfort caused by the impassivity of the players shaken by 120 minutes of match and the defeat in the face of the approaches of Emmanuel Macron who was raised, in particular by the ecologist Sandrine Rousseau.Others were more brittle and without real empathy for the Blues like the deputy LFI Manon Aubry who played derision on Twitter: “Don’t worry Kylian you can work until you’re 65 and win lots of other world cups!”