“And why are there no players from the French women's team?
"" More than half of the team is missing, including Mbappé and Pogba.
"" They read a text, does that mean they have been forced?
"Nobody talks about secularism in this video, only the chance to go to school."
Here is a short sample of the reactions of the students of a second class, this Monday afternoon, in Paris, after the viewing of the video of the players of the French football team called "Message from the French team of football to the students of France ”.
This 1 minute 42 video where Griezmann, Lloris, Varane and other members of the Blues praise the virtues of the school and its teachers is part of the teaching material, made available to teachers by the Ministry of National Education .
A tool, among others, to explain the values of the Republic and accompany the tribute paid to Samuel Paty, the professor assassinated on October 16 by an Islamist fundamentalist after a course on freedom of expression.
“Overall, the students felt closer to the players of the France team than to Robert Badinter's message, considered more boring,” explains the history-geography teacher who broadcast the video to this second class.
They appreciated that it was athletes and people of their age or almost who spoke to them.
Even if they expressed reservations for example on the inequality of speaking time between the players and the important part taken by Griezmann or Giroud, to the detriment of Nzonzi for example.
"This video will not have failed to arouse reactions since it was posted online by the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, on his Twitter account, last Saturday.
VIDEO. Lack of naturalness, choice of players ... the message of the Blues to students react
Anonymous people have pointed out on social networks the absence of emblematic players like Pogba or Mbappé or colored players (Nzonzi and Tolisso however have African origins, and Varane Guadeloupe).
Beyond this last controversy which would amount to establishing a quota policy each time the Blues speak, we must go back to the genesis of this video and its express production linked to time constraints.
Players with a busy schedule
On October 22, during a meeting at his ministry with Noël Le Graët, the president of the French Football Federation, Jean-Michel Blanquer launched the idea of a video in which the Blues would speak out to defend the school and its republican values.
The order was formally placed a few days later, on Tuesday, October 27.
Charge to the teams of the FFF to contact the French players and to concoct in two days a small film where the champions of the world will take again the text of the ministry reworked and synthesized by the Federation.
But the problem: in the middle of the week, the vast majority of players are retained by Champions League or Europa League matches.
It's easier for a Nzonzi suspended with Rennes than for Mbappé or Kimpembe traveling to Turkey with PSG.
Some Blues (9 in total including Lloris, Pavard, Varane ...) still find the time to film themselves with their mobile phone and send the rushes to the FFF who will send the final cut to the ministry on Friday, i.e. 72 hours after the order .
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Only the "new" players (Camavinga, Upamecano, Aouar) and Paul Pogba, caught in the turmoil across the Channel of a fake news on his false start from the Blues, were not asked.
Coach Didier Deschamps is also not part of the video because the initial request concerns the players of the France team, who are more representative among young people.
Originally, these images were not intended to be broadcast to a large audience, but the minister will tweet them on Saturday, prompting the comments that we know.
And not just because in a rush, Clément Lenglet was spelled Clément Langlet.