The French women’s handball team was received Monday evening at the Élysée by Emmanuel Macron the day after his coronation at the world championship in Denmark, which “marks history”, declared the president. On their arrival in the courtyard of the Élysée, the Bleues and their coach Olivier Krumbholz received congratulations from the president, his wife Brigitte Macron and the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, before winning a tent which had been erected for the occasion at the back of the palace.
“We are very happy with my wife and the minister to welcome you here for this third world title. There, very clearly, you are making history,” declared Emmanuel Macron. Les Bleues won the third world title in their history on Sunday evening by beating Norway (31-28) in Herning, Denmark.
“You will wreak havoc at home”
But, noted the President of the Republic, they “did not simply win a grand final”. “You had a great competition and, something unprecedented for you, without ever losing a match, so hats off to you!”, he said, before adding that this victory also went to their coach Olivier Krumbholz, whose he praised the “unique record” at the head of the Bleues.
After the coronations of 2003 and 2017, this third star bodes well seven months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they will defend the gold medal won in Tokyo in 2021. “We will be there for the coach’s next medal and yours and this medal, with the lipstick (which the French women put on after the final in Herning, Editor’s note), we want it at home”, the President of the Republic told them.
“I have three words to say to you: well done, thank you, and we are not giving up. Now we want the medals for Paris, for our Games. The medal that is won must only be a foretaste of this waiting for you,” he added.
“You have worked miracles in hostile territory, you will wreak havoc at home,” concluded Emmanuel Macron before sharing a moment with the players and their loved ones.