Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said she was "shocked" this Friday morning on RTL by the reaction of the president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, in the program Complément d'Enquête broadcast on Thursday, after watching images of the living conditions of subcontractor workers at the Hôtel des Bleus in Qatar.
After viewing images of cramped rooms infested with cockroaches where workers pile up on bunk beds, the president of the FFF replied to the journalist: “It's not insoluble that, it's paint strokes.
There's still time to fix that."
"I can show you lots of images like that in lots of countries, even maybe not far from here," he added in his Paris office.
“This reaction shocked me, I found that it was above ground (…) that it lacked humanity and even lucidity, replied the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on RTL.
The FFF must take its share of responsibility and do everything in its power to improve the situation on the subject of working conditions and respect for human rights at its base camp.
Compared to the very shocking images that we saw yesterday, reactions are needed.
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These images led the Federation to announce an on-site verification mission, verifications which "made it possible to dismiss the security company" because of "numerous unacceptable irregularities", explains the FFF in a letter of October 2 produced by the emission.
At the beginning of October, the minister had sent a letter to the authority asking it to provide proof of its action concerning human rights during the World Cup in Qatar (November 20 - December 18).
Noël Le Graët, "accused of harassment", denounces lies
About the current audit: "My hand will not shake when drawing all the conclusions", announces the Minister of Sports @AOC1978 guest of #RTLMatin with @amandine_begot pic.twitter.com/r3c05cmdrh
– RTL France (@RTLFrance) October 14, 2022
“I had a first return which honestly did not remove the doubts, so I will not let them go on the subject, explained the minister.
I want us to be vigilant and irreproachable.
They are committed to meeting there in the next few days, they must do the job.
Qatar is the subject of numerous criticisms from NGOs on respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, in particular those of foreign workers, particularly from Africa and South Asia, who make up the majority of its population.
The minister also affirmed that she would draw all the conclusions from the ongoing audit mission at the FFF, while new anonymous testimonies from ex-employees disclosed by Radio France on Wednesday spoke of “inappropriate” Christmas behavior. Le Graët, which he “firmly contests”.
"I want this federation to be exemplary in the way it takes up this major issue," said the minister, referring to gender-based and sexual violence.
We will carry out this work (of audit) in an independent way in the respect of the contradictory one, with method.
My hand will not shake when drawing all the conclusions.
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