Before receiving Emmanuel Macron, who has planned to travel to Doha for the semi-final against Morocco, on Wednesday December 14, the French football team welcomed the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, in their locker room after their victory over England (2-1) on Saturday. This courtesy visit, the first by a member of the government since the start of the World Cup in Qatar, was part of a very dense program, “rich and balanced” according to the minister, who had taken her place in the official gallery wearing a royal blue polo shirt with sleeves covered in rainbow bands.
“I have already spoken about spaces of freedom, underlined how important it is to me that everyone feels able to seize them, so I wanted to put the action into words” On this December 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “doing nothing, saying nothing was not an option”. Especially since the obstacles to the expression in the stadiums of symbols associated with the LGBT communities were the only criticisms issued by the tricolor fan associations that she met in Qatar.
Anxious to act “in a clear and assumed way, but without aggressiveness or acrimony”Mme Oudéa-Castéra had mentioned his gesture during his pre-match meeting with Hassan Al Thawadi, the secretary general of the Supreme Council for Handover and Inheritance, the Qatari institution responsible for organizing the World Cup.
“We talked about the issues of inclusion and security for all people, to keep the word of the emir who said everyone would be welcome. I explained that I carried the message of my country on these subjects, he was receptive and he said to me “It is your choice, it is up to you to assume it but I appreciate that you talk about it” ». Other foreign ministers have previously sported the inclusive “One Love” armband, but not all have done so openly.
Observing Qatar’s methods of welcoming supporters
Another obligatory passage, the French minister stopped at the regional office of the International Labor Organization (ILO), to raise the question of deaths on construction sites linked to the organization of the World Cup and try to see clearly in “the ambiguity of the figures” announced in recent months: that of 6,500 dead, published by the British daily The Guardian, although controversial is the one that the public has retained, but an ILO report estimates the number of victims at 35 dead and about 2000 slightly injured; and 400 to 500 dead according to the organizing committee led by Mr. Al Thawadi. “I tend to think that the most accurate figure is that of Hassan Al Thawadi. This is the most recent and the most documented I imagine”advance Mme Oudea-Castera.
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