The Disqualified and the Unqualified

Though much of the recent news has been focusing on the conduct of the "French" soccer team, the defeat yesterday of the Algerian team by the United States triggered an eruption of violence in Paris, particularly near the Cité Universitaire, a complex of student residences on the southern border of Paris.

A late goal by Landon Donovan of the U.S. resulted in the elimination of Algeria as a contender for the Cup. Several news sources carried reports of the acts of violence. From 20 minutes:

There were incidents on Wednesday in and around the Charléty stadium in Paris, where the soccer match was being broadcast live, according to police sources. After the defeat by the United States (0-1), the manager of a garage located near the stadium told 20 Minutes: "It was an apocalypse: several thousand persons marched in front of my establishment. The police charged. I had to make women and children go inside. Twenty young persons stole tires, broke car windows; at least four cars were burnt in the street,'' he went on. "A car belonging to one of my customers is no longer usable - they turned it upside down," he says, in a state of shock.


The police confirm that cars were turned upside down and windows broken. There were also incidents as people exiting the stadium were being monitored. "Some were not happy to be forced to wait," noted one police source.

Europe 1 adds this:

In addition, incidents erupted on Line B of the Regional Rails, resulting in interrupted service at the Denfert-Rochereau station. According to one Europe 1 reporter, one car and one motor-bike were burnt, another car was overturned, and the windows of a jewelry store were broken.

Le Parisien:

(...) About 200-250 young people set off the violence, attacking buses and police with various projectiles, according to one police officer who called the incidents "short but serious". Other sources said two people had been arrested. On rue Cacheux, along the side of the stadium a Twingo and three scooters were burnt, and on Boulevard Kellermann a Citroën Picasso was turned upside down, and the windows of the bus stop and a garage had been smashed in. Police used tear gas and tried to encircle the perpetrators, while a quiet crowd of fans was held in check by a police barrier.

The police spoke of a "tense" climate after the game.

(...) On the Champs-Elysées, about a hundred very young fans with Algerian flags, wearing green and red shirts, paraded by calmly, dancing to a tambourine. At least three companies of riot police had been deployed, declared a reporter for AFP.

H/T: François Desouche

As for the conduct of the French team (known as "les Bleus"), by now everyone knows what Nicolas Anelka said to coach Domenech, and the consequences. Here is a short summary from an English-language source. Insults back and forth, a "hunt" for the "traitor" who reported Anelka's remarks, etc... A general lack of interest in the game due to internal quarrels, ethnic, racial and religious rivalries. Then the inevitable: a loss to South Africa on June 22 eliminated "les Bleus" from the competition. Did they try to lose this game, so that South Africa would win? Some French bloggers believe so. Here are some short excerpts from a local paper Sud-Ouest, on the disaster in South Africa.

Note: For some the French loss is not a disaster, but a wake-up call for those who believed in the joys of multiculturalism. The French defeat proves that a team must be composed of players who identify with the country they are playing for, not with their own ethnic or racial group, and that the choices made by coach Domenech were dictated purely by racial politics, not by concern for the French nation:

Shame and disaster for "les Bleus"; the French team, reduced to ten, left the World Cup, beaten 2-1 for nothing, by a South Africa that became the first host country to be eliminated during the first stage of a World Cup.

As in 2008, "les Bleus" leave the World Cup during the first stage without a victory. What connects these two shipwrecks? Raymond Domenech, who returned to his post after the 2008 debacle. These two failures are his. He departs leaving behind a field of ruins.

The French Federation is also on the bench of the accused and will have to face a country disgusted by its national team. The government has promised a change in the leadership of this institution. A page will be turned, probably amidst chaos. The players will have to taste opprobrium. After the "golden generation" of 1998 and 2000, they will remain the "spoiled generation", the generation of half-crazed individualists, who insult their coach and sully their image permanently by refusing to train, without realizing that they are the laughing stock of the world. (...)

François Desouche has posted the video of writer/philosopher Alain Finkielkraut denouncing the conduct of "les Bleus". The video is also available at Daily Motion.


Among other things, Finkielkraut says:

"You feel like vomiting with this generation of scum ("génération caillera")... It is time to stop selecting arrogant, unintelligent thugs... you have to take into consideration the ethnic and religious divisions that are undermining this team."

Note: Finkielkraut uses the term "caillera", a reversal of "racaille" (scum). "Racaille" was famously used by Nicolas Sarkozy when, as Interior Minister, he promised to rid the ghettoes of the "racaille". The word has become widely accepted by writers and websites as the preferred way of designating the ghetto dwellers who commit acts of violence and disruption. To reverse syllables is common in the street slang called "verlan", which is itself a reversal of "langue verte" (green language). We might say "salty" or "racy" language, or just "slang".

Finkielkraut's remarks are refreshingly honest, and on the whole, the readers at François Desouche praise him. However, other websites express less enthusiasm, because the philosopher, for all his criticism, exonerates the government, and places the blame for the poor image of the team solely on the team itself, without considering how this all came about in the first place. Was Domenech under pressure from Elysée to pick certain players and not others? I don't have the answer, but here are some of his remarks subjected to analysis by Agoravox:

- AF: "Let us require dignity of our elected officials, but they are not the ones setting a bad example." (This remark followed the observation by AF that there were "caïds" within the French team.)

- Agoravox: The imbecile looks at the finger when the wise man points to the moon. As far as a bratty child and an attitude of a caïd are concerned, the President of the French Republic is a fine example. First, his demeanor. The "parvenu" side of his character, that of a nouveau riche showing off his wife and his Rollex, and the frivolity of demanding an airplane worthy of his ego.

- AF: "It is time to stop turning the fate of the team over to arrogant unintelligent thugs and to select gentlemen."

- Agoravox: As far as good manners go, the government has a long way to go. Instead of serving the Republic, many have chosen, like their leader and mentor, to carve out large portions for themselves.

- AF: "Those who exercise power have their faults but let's not make of them the scapegoats for social turpitude."

- Agoravox: (...) courageous Finkielkraut capable of condemning a lack of responsibility and at the same time of exonerating the government for the collective collapse of values that hold society together.

Note: I take it that the word "courageous" is used here ironically in place of "cowardly", because that is what Finkielkraut shows himself to be in this particular instance. Possibly, like Philippe de Villiers, he has maintained some kind of friendly relation with Sarkozy.

Agoravox goes on:

A strange era we live in, Mr. Philosopher, when we feel clearly that we have reached a tipping point. In another period just as uncertain - 1848 - Alexis de Toqueville, before the Chamber of Deputies, uttered words that resonate still today: "It is possible that disorder is not in the facts, but it has certainly entered deeply into the minds."

After discussing briefly the role of the French Minister of Sports, Agoravox closes with this comment about Sarkozy's trip to London on June 18:

The images and the references are sometimes terrible. His attempt to exploit the June 18 patriotic actions of Charles de Gaulle attest to the fact that by the yardstick of history, it is difficult for a midget to put his steps in those of a giant.

Le Figaro has some photos, in the form of a slide show, of the visit of Sarkozy and his wife to London. I do not believe I have ever seen Carla Bruni show off the way she does in these photos. Usually she pretends to be proper, but here her affected model's pose is both unnatural and offensive, considering what is being commemorated. Yes, she is pretty, her legs are gorgeous, her dress is chic, etc... but she hogs the spotlight unduly, and ultimately looks silly.



Many of the comments from Le Figaro readers express surprise at the way she is preening. And many readers note too that it is shameful for Sarkozy to assume he can pay homage to de Gaulle, a man whose work he has undone bit by bit, every day since taking office.


Returning for a moment to soccer, the French team includes Franck Ribéry, born a Catholic, but converted to Islam in 2006. His Muslim name is Bilal Yusuf Mohammed. He is married to Wahiba (left, with her husband), a Muslim woman and is the father of Hiziya and Shahinez. In April of 2010, he and other members of the French team were implicated in a prostitution ring that was operating inside a Paris nightclub with some of the women being underage. Ribéry admitted to an affair with a prostitute, but said he did not know she was a minor. It is not known if Ribéry will be charged.

Reminiscent of the Roman Polanski case.

Source: Wikipedia