This Wednesday, 52 French sportsmen published a forum, with our colleagues from
FranceInfo
and
Parisien-Aujourd'hui in France
, in which they call to vote for Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the presidential election, in order to block Marine Le Pen and at the National Rally.
“Voting for a party that would endanger Republican values would be the worst remedy,”
they argue.
Alongside, among others, Tony Parker (basketball), Nikola Karabatic (handball), Blaise Matuidi (football), Earvin Ngapeth (volleyball), there are five rugby personalities: Cameron Woki, Raphaël Ibanez, Frédéric Michalak, Jessy Trémoulière and Antoine Dupont , recently voted best player in the world.
“The sport in which we believe, that of the values of Olympism, is made of friendship and respect”
A position that has earned them many criticisms on social networks.
In particular those of Robert Ménard, the far-right mayor of Béziers (Hérault), who tweeted:
“I have enormous admiration for Antoine Dupont.
But was he obliged to sign such a platform against Marine Le Pen?
How isn't she a Republican?
How does it threaten sporting values?
In their forum, the athletes who take a stand argue that
“the sport in which we believe, that of the values of Olympism, is made of friendship and respect;
it is the place of diversity.
He rejects all discrimination.
Everywhere on the territory, in our cities, our suburbs and our countryside, sport is a powerful remedy for exclusion.
In the columns of the
Journal du dimanche
, Antoine Dupont returned to the mockery he was subjected to after posing in a yellow bathrobe for the magazine
GQ
.
“
I didn't think it would make so much talk
.
It's always like that when you do things that go a bit out of the box.
Especially in rugby, which is not the most open-minded environment.
»