A sporting comeback and already a political controversy.
Several elected officials welcomed the recall of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema from the Blues, some of the left and En Marche criticizing the "racist" remarks of the senator of the National Rally of Marseille Stéphane Ravier who described the player as "French of paper ".
“Karim Benzema is a Frenchman, but says himself Algerian by heart: he only has to play for the Algerian team.
But wages are much lower in Algeria, ”tweeted Stéphane Ravier.
“Talent is not everything (...) He is French on paper, administratively, no one disputes him.
France was world champion without him.
We could very well do without it, ”he added to Franceinfo.
🎥 Karim #Benzema is French by paper, but calls himself Algerian by heart: he only has to play for the Algerian team.
But wages are much lower in Algeria… # ListDesBleus pic.twitter.com/5330oi8Wc9
- Stéphane Ravier (@Stephane_Ravier) May 18, 2021
Words that immediately aroused the ire of EELV number 2 Sandra Regol on the set: “Mr. Ravier allows himself to judge those who have the right to be French with odious expressions […] He used the '
French
expression
of paper
which is of an odious racism that very few people of the political class use because it is really of the extreme and the worst extreme right ", she retorted.
"Obviously, at the RN, it's time for deconfinement and when the masks fall the RN after is unsurprisingly the RN before," also tweeted the leader of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure.
Same irony of the president of the LREM group in the National Assembly, Christophe Castaner: "The rare times where Stéphane Ravier scores, it's always against his camp, against France," he tweeted.
A return applauded by several elected officials
Previously, several elected officials had applauded the change of foot of the coach Didier Deschamps towards Karim Benzema, excluded from the France team since 2015 and his indictment in the case of blackmail with the sextape exercised on Mathieu Valbuena.
"Deserved return of Karim Benzema in the France team" which is "worthy of wearing the tricolor tunic," said LREM deputy Sacha Houlié.
Deserved return of Karim @Benzema in the France team.
Worthy of the trust of Zinédine Zidane.
Worthy to wear the merengue jersey.
Benzema is just as important to wear the tricolor tunic 🇫🇷
- Sacha Houlié (@SachaHoulie) May 18, 2021
" Which team !
Not a lot of sunshine at the moment not to say this happiness, ”underlined the deputy of rebellious France Éric Coquerel.
"What REAL football fan and lover of the France team was not eager to see an attack line playing with Kylian Mbappé, Benzema and Antoine Griezmann?
Seriously.
Thank you Deschamps ”, also wrote the founder of Générations Benoît Hamon.
The former Minister of Justice and LR mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris Rachida Dati said she was "happy with her long-awaited return to the French team", stressing that he is "still very committed to children in difficulty" .
She retweeted the message of the player who said he was "so proud of this return to the France team and the confidence" granted.
