Can the most popular sport not be political? And does the major event of the round ball, followed by billions of Earthlings, take place in a bubble, sealed off from the major humanist and environmental questions?
Since the appointment of Qatar, a Gulf oil monarchy that disrespects minority rights, as host country for the 2022 Football World Cup on December 2, 2010, the political world has hesitated, torn between acceptance and indignation. Thursday, November 17, Emmanuel Macron tried to close the ban on controversy by answering a question about the possibility of a diplomatic boycott. “I think that we should not politicize sport, he said from Bangkok, where he was invited to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. These questions must be asked when attributing the event. »
Sunday evening, France was therefore well represented at the opening ceremony by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. And Mr. Macron will travel to Qatar to watch the semi-final and the final if the French team qualifies. Faced with the reactions, the Elysee Palace explained that the President of the Republic did not wish to interfere in the decisions of the football authorities, which were supposed to be politically neutral. A way to return the ball to the camp of the International Federation (FIFA) which awarded this World Cup to Qatar, a designation tainted by suspicions of corruption.
But does this context preclude debate? “In 1978, many Argentine intellectuals, sometimes imprisoned, appreciated that the World Cup drew attention to the excesses of the military regime”remembers Patrick Mignon, sociologist of sport.
Later, on the sidelines of a meeting with young people from the French high school in Bangkok, the Head of State himself felt that this meeting could, in fact, allow Qatar to progress: “It will bring about changes. Anyway, that’s the hope I have. » Weighed words. In the midst of an energy crisis, the emirate, the world’s second largest gas exporter, is an important player.
Emmanuel Macron criticized by the opposition
Despite his desire to depoliticize the event, Emmanuel Macron is not always resistant to sports diplomacy. On August 26, the Head of State had thus wished the organization of a France-Algeria match “to ward off the past”.
His recent position on the Football World Cup has, in any case, been criticized by the opposition. “The executive is not responsible for the choice of Qatar, but he could have at least said ‘This is the last time we condone’. And don’t be zealous in going on the spotbelieves Pierre Hurmic, Europe Ecology-The Greens (EELV) mayor of Bordeaux.
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