A triumvirate to try to put out a fire. The French Football Federation (FFF) announced in a press release on Friday evening October 14 that Florence Hardouin, general manager, Philippe Diallo, vice-president, and Erwan le Prevost, director of institutional and international relations, will go as soon as Tuesday in Qatar, where the next World Cup will take place, from November 20 to December 18. The three officials of the FFF will be responsible for verifying “that the hotel of the French team and its service providers respect their commitments to respect the social rights of employees who will intervene on the base camp during the competition”, explains the federation.
The establishment in question is the luxurious Al-Messila, a five-star hotel with spa located a few kilometers from the center of Doha, belonging to the Marriott chain. Presented in this way, the pied-à-terre seems most welcoming. But behind the scenes of the palace and the subcontracting companies that operate there, crudely revealed in the France 2 magazine “Further investigation”, Thursday October 13, are less brilliant. The deplorable living conditions of employees of a service provider in charge of hotel security were particularly shocking. Just like, in the same report, the inadequate reaction of Noël Le Graet, the president of the FFF: “It’s not insoluble, it’s paint strokes. There’s still time to fix this. (…) I can show you lots of images like that in lots of countries, even maybe not far from here [de Paris]. »
Friday, October 14, the day after the broadcast of the France Télévisions magazine, the Minister of Sports said to herself “shocked” by the words of the boss of French football. “I found that[e cette réaction] was above ground (…), that she lacked humanity and even lucidity”, detailed Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. Before calling for concrete actions: “The FFF must take its share of responsibility and do everything in its power to improve the situation on the subject of working conditions and respect for human rights at its base camp, asked M.me Oudea-Castera. Compared to the very shocking images that we have seen [jeudi]reactions are needed”. Just before the broadcast of “Complément d’Enquête”, the FFF had announced an upcoming mission to Qatar. Responding to the requirements of the Minister of Sports, it should therefore arrive on Tuesday, October 18 in the emirate.
A choice that goes back more than six months
The emergency dispatch of “3F” officials to Doha comes after a long period when the federation seemed to drag its feet and not take the measure of the human rights issue in Qatar. The FFF chose this hotel to establish the base camp of the Blues more than six months ago, on the sidelines of the World Cup draw, in Doha, on 1er april. At the time, the International Football Federation (FIFA) ensured only one “unprecedented due diligence process [était] applied to protect the rights and well-being of workers in 159 different hotels, including those that will house the participating teams”.
According to information from ” World “, the FFF, unlike other federations, did not respond to the proposal of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to use the evaluation grid that the latter has established to verify the practices in terms of hiring and working conditions of Qatari hotels. “The French federation has not shown itself responsible”, laments an ILO official. He cites as an example the Danish, Belgian, American and British delegations, which collaborated with the UN organization to choose their base camp during the World Cup.
In September, Amnesty International also denounced, in an open letter, the “deafening silence” of the federation and the Blues “in the face of the thousands of migrant workers who died on Qatari construction sites [du prochain Mondial]and the thousands of others subjected to forced labour”. lamenting a “stigmatization campaign” long, the FFF then explained that it had “implemented various verification measures concerning the respect of social rights and the application of respectful working conditions on the base camp of the France team” in Qatar, without it being known what measures were implemented.
Thursday on RTL, Mme Oudéa-Castéra has made public its wish to see things progress more quickly, more concretely: “I had a first return which, honestly, did not remove the doubts, so I will not let them go on the subject. (…) I want us to be vigilant and irreproachable (…). They are committed to meeting there in the next few days, they must do the job. »
Tuesday in Doha, the three senior officials of the FFF will therefore “do the job” demanded by the Minister of Sports and for even longer by organizations attentive to respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights in Qatar. Too late ? In terms of the image sent back by the French federation, no doubt. As for the only question of the accommodation of the Blues and their supervision during the World Cup, probably too. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine, just over a month before the start of the competition, that the FFF could change establishments, if the mission it sends to Doha makes unacceptable discoveries. In mid-November, the French team will therefore probably put down its suitcases at the Al-Messila hotel, chosen above all taking into account practical criteria and comfort.