A message of encouragement, pending a possible trip if the players of the French team qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called on Qatar to “continue” the changes that he believes the World Cup organized by the gas emirate bears witness to.
“This football World Cup, the first organized in the Arab world, bears witness to the concrete changes that are at work.
Qatar has embarked on this path and must continue.
He can count on our support, ”tweeted the head of state at halftime of the France-Denmark match, won 2-1 thanks to a double from Kylian Mbappé.
This Football World Cup, the first organized in the Arab world, bears witness to the concrete changes that are at work.
Qatar has embarked on this path and must continue.
He can count on our support.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 26, 2022
Harshly criticized for the deaths, accidents and unpaid wages of these foreign workers, Qatar has passed major reforms to improve worker safety and punish recalcitrant employers.
Do not “politicize sport”
The authorities have also paid hundreds of millions of euros to compensate for unpaid salaries, but for human rights associations, these reforms are late and insufficient.
On November 17, on the eve of the start of the competition, Emmanuel Macron felt that it was not necessary to "politicize sport".
Read alsoAfter Qatar's efforts to silence critics, the time for indifference
On Friday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne for her part considered that the fact that footballers spoke about values was "a good thing", "while respecting the rules of the tournament".
She did not want to comment on the gesture of the German team, which, after being banned by the International Football Federation from wearing the armband in favor of sexual diversity, had posed for the official photo on Wednesday with their hand in front mouth, mimicking a gag.
A gesture then clearly turned against Fifa, just before the Mannschaft match against Japan.
In the gallery, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wore the One Love armband, alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
