Spain Ex-PM Draws Criticism with 'Xenophobic' Remark on French Team
Rajoy’s remark revived disputes over immigration and identity as France’s squad includes only three players born outside the country, officials said.
- Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sparked controversy by claiming France's football team possesses a "top-tier squad" but plays "without Frenchmen" in a recent column ahead of the semifinal match.
- Rajoy's comments mirror historical attacks from Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front, which previously argued that France's multicultural squad was "artificial," reflecting long-standing debates about immigration and national identity.
- Despite the rhetoric, only 3 of the 26 players called up by manager Didier Deschamps were born outside France, including Michael Olise, Marcus Thuram, and Brice Samba.
- French Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel and PSOE Party MEP José Cepeda condemned the remarks as "racist and xenophobic," while the Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation for "aggravated public insult."
- Tensions coincide with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's planned visit to Paris on Tuesday for the Bastille Day holiday, occurring on the same day Spain and France face off in the World Cup semifinal in Dallas.
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France has "a rose of the highest level. Of course, without French." Word of Mariano Rajoy, former Spanish Prime Minister Conservative and in this case editorialist for El Debate. (ANSA)
The Spanish and French governments classified this Sunday as racist and xenophobic the statements of the former head of the Spanish government Mariano Rajoy on the French football team, who said that he was a good team, but no French. In this case, there is an opinion column written by the former president of the Spanish government (PP, right) between 2011 and 2018, in which he ranks the French team present at the World Cup2026, which will face …
French and Spanish ministers and politicians denounce Mariano Rajoy's statements calling the Blues "without French" before the semi-final of the World Cup Several
A few days after the semifinal of the World Cup between France and Spain, Rajoy, head of government of Spain between 2011 and 2018 by the Popular Party, analyzed the French selection in a column published by the newspaper El Debate
Spain ex-PM draws criticism with 'xenophobic' remark on French team
Spain's conservative ex-prime minister Mariano Rajoy faced criticism at home and in France Sunday after saying the neighbouring country's national football team had "no French players". Our correspondent Sarah Morris tells us more.
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