“France in all its colours”: A demonstration of the power of multiculturalism in football

 

France’s 2018 World Cup Final Starting XI

 

The noise inside Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium is deafening.

France’s golden boy gathers the ball, 20 yards from goal, as a nation holds its breath.

Kylian Mbappé, just nineteen years old, takes a touch and lets fly with his right foot, sending his low shot skidding past Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subašić and into the bottom corner of the net. Pre-match favourites France were 4-1 up, and their first World Cup triumph in twenty years suddenly became within touching distance.

Mbappé, born in the Parisian suburb of Bondy to a Cameroonian father and an Algerian mother, is one of 16 players in France’s 23-man World Cup squad with immigrant roots.

That goal, and the 4-2 victory that was to come, signified a triumph of not only footballing excellence, but also a statement about the power of diversity in modern sport.

As global sport comes to terms with nationalism and division, the story of this French side is a powerful reminder of the product of togetherness through multinationalism, and this squad remains a model for how diversity can be a foundation for true unity.

 

Over the past several decades, the nation of France, a European economic heavyweight, has struggled with its national identity, in part thanks to the rising voices of the right-wing National Front party, with leader Marine Le Pen an outspoken nationalist. The World Cup win in 2018, however, is a shining example of the power of inclusion of players hailing from unique backgrounds, forming a seemingly unbreakable team spirit, which led to the greatest French footballing triumph of the 21^st century.

From Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté, born in France to immigrants from Africa, to Raphaël Varane and Thomas Lemar, both of Caribbean descent, the team was an embodiment of the country’s multicultural spirit, and formed proof that diversity can be a foundation for a united group of players.

Didier Deschamps, who captained France to their only previous World Cup win in 1998, was in charge, and became just the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a manager.

France displayed superb tactical discipline throughout, with Deschamps placing emphasis on efficiency on the ball and quick, direct attacks in their 4-2-3-1 formation, spearheaded by attacking superstars Mbappe, in his breakout tournament, and Antoine Griezmann.

 

After the victory, Deschamps praised France’s mindset, showing his managerial strength in helping a squad to gain and develop an elite attitude.

“We did not play a good game, but we showed good mental quality”, Deschamps stated, showing the humble but fiercely competitive mentality that he had passed onto his players. “They deserved to win. The group worked so hard and we had some tough moments along the way. It hurt to lose the Euros final [in 2016] but it made us learn too.

“This victory is not about me; it is about the players who won the game.”

Two decades earlier, France had lifted their first-ever World Cup trophy on home soil, inspired by talent such as Lilian Thuram, Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira. It gave rise to the famous slogan, Black, Blanc, Beur (Black, White, Arab), further symbolising that France had become a nation where immigrants could make a difference in sporting circumstances.

However, the triumph of 1998 was soon forgotten. Nationwide issues, such as economic inequality, caused constant mass protests and threatened to tarnish the glory of the accomplishment under Aimé Jacquet. Questions were raised about whether France would ever display a sense of unity like they had in 1998 – but this was answered resoundingly 20 years later.

 

Many of France’s stars in Russia came from humble beginnings, hailing from the banlieues – the suburbs of major cities often seen as areas of high unemployment, low education levels and with high crime rates.

“Many banlieues are symbols of poverty, the decline of public services, the relegation of ethnic minorities and poor whites, unemployment and stigmatisation, and ‘inter-communal’ tensions”, writes respected French philosopher Etienne Balibar, in his article, ‘Uprisings in the Banlieue’.

“It forms a periphery at the very centre of the great metropolitan areas.”

Despite their negative reputation, these suburban areas have produced some of France’s most celebrated footballers.

Mbappé is one of France’s most valuable assets. At the time of the 2018 World Cup, he was in the process of completing a transfer from AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain for a staggering estimated fee of £162 million and was earning more than £100,000 per week as a basic salary. He was raised in Bondy, in the northeastern Parisian suburbs, which is where he first demonstrated his pace and power on the football pitch, which he has become synonymous with. He talks openly about the struggles of his childhood in the banlieues, in a column aimed at his young supporters via The Players’ Tribune in 2020.

“In Bondy, there is not a lot of money, but we are dreamers”, he says proudly and with real emotion in his words. “Our neighbourhood is an incredible melting pot of different cultures – French, African, Asian, Arab, every part of the world.

“There are thugs, but there are thugs everywhere in the world. The reality is that when I was a kid I used to watch some of the toughest guys in the neighbourhood carry groceries for my grandmother. You never see those parts of our culture on the news.

“You only hear about the bad, never the good.”

The childhood that several French players faced in the banlieues reminded the country that their inspiration can come from different backgrounds.

Incredibly, while several key players had difficult childhoods in the suburbs, their captain and goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, was born in Nice to wealthy parents – one who worked as a banker and one as a lawyer - further demonstrating the varying backgrounds within the squad.

 

As President Emmanuel Macron emphasised in his speech when he welcomed the France players home after their victory in Russia, this was “France in all its colours”. These words emphasised the essence of a nation that was united and stood behind their football team, but the question existed whether there was a nationalist undertone to the statement.

“This statement immediately made me think of the image of the French flag – the red, white and blue – which can be seen as a nationalist symbol”, explains Dr Georgie Wemyss, senior lecturer and co-director of the Centre for Research of Migrants, Refugees and Belonging at the University of East London. “It was such a strong statement, which brings up images of empire – the empire from which most of these immigrant footballers had their roots.

“I felt it was a strong, emotional, assimilationist idea – it would be interesting to know how it was meant, but I believe that Macron was trying to win over the nationalists.”

 

Packed full of diaspora athletes, including world-class stars in their position, the squad demonstrated their own qualities which translated into their achievement. Varane, born in Lille to Martiniquais parents, commanded the defence with authority. Griezmann, born to a German father and a Portuguese mother, led the strike force with intelligence and a tireless work ethic. And Kanté, of Malian heritage, showed humility, but a quiet hunger and a work rate bettering anybody on the pitch, for which he has become well-known.

Macron’s statement was more than just a political declaration, but a recognition that France, as a football team and as a nation, had evolved. Les Bleus reflected a nation that had become enhanced by difference and aided by immigration.

The wider political context made this victory even more significant. Just over two years before France’s triumph in Moscow, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killed 130 people in Paris, including at the Bataclan music hall. Nine months later, a truck drove into crowds during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, which claimed the lives of 86 people. Amidst growing political tensions, citizens of France began to question their own ideas of what it meant to be French.

Many inhabitants of the nation began to question the influence of immigrants, suggesting that multiculturalism was no longer succeeding.

However, Les Bleus helped to diminish that rhetoric. The images of the France team and coaches dancing with the trophy under confetti and the Moscow rain, with the same multicultural faces beamed onto the Eiffel Tower to commemorate this success, are the lasting souvenirs of a memorable tournament.

 

“I think we [in western European democratic society] have made progress in eliminating these far-right views”, says Dr Andrew Branch, a lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of East London. “However, there are people out there who still hold objectional views and would identify themselves with far-right politics and would maybe use football to express their views.

“When France won in 1998, it was a powerful statement. You have players like Zinedine Zidane, of Algerian descent, a former French colony, lifting the World Cup in a France shirt – that’s a huge moment.

“As for whether the success of the two World Cup-winning teams have helped to eradicate far-right narratives [about identity and immigration], it is hard to say. These narratives do still exist, but I believe that more research needs to be done to help us say for sure.”

Dr Wemyss agrees. “All of these players have intersectional identities – they might be Muslim, Christian or atheist. What happens to these identities in the face of far-right nationalism remains to be seen – it has to be looked at in a more complex way.”

 

As the manager of the successful team, Deschamps deserves an enormous amount of credit. A pragmatic coach, with clear coaching similarities to his boss from 20 years previously in his vision and philosophy, the building of mutual respect among players of many different backgrounds and heritages was important to Deschamps. His emphasis on discipline, humility and acceptance of each other, no matter their race, religion or background, created an unbreakable cohesion in the dressing room.

The players often spoke about the “family atmosphere” that Deschamps had helped to create. Every player found common ground with each other, and their eventual success was a real demonstration of teamwork and solidarity, as well as their on-pitch qualities.

Reflecting on the historic triumph, skipper Lloris praised the qualities of the squad. Speaking to the Tottenham Hotspur website, where he was club captain at the time, in an interview several weeks after victory in Moscow, he admitted that he never thought that such a triumph would come for him on the international stage, but he praised the “mentality” and the “team spirit” built on multicultural foundations.

“We didn’t know after the final of the Euros that we were going to have one more chance,” he admitted. “It was a great opportunity to have success with the national team, and we’ve made it with a lot of effort.

“The key was the mentality and the team spirit. We have a lot of great players in the squad, but we were all ready to work for the team and that made our success.

“It’s difficult to get success – you need to be in the right team at the right moment – so that’s why we can enjoy this moment because it’s fantastic. There is a lot of work and history behind this success and it’s a great moment.”

 

France’s 2018 World Cup win was more than the story of eleven men on a pitch. It was a demonstration of renewed values, implemented by Deschamps, and a declaration of the importance and strength of multiculturalism.

From the streets of the banlieues to the biggest stage of all in Moscow, from the dreams of immigrants to the pride of a nation, this victory was the perfect example of the product of unity and solidarity.

As Lloris lifted the trophy, and the celebrations commenced, it was clear that this was not just a footballing triumph, but it was a vision of a renewed France.

A France, as Macron emphasised, in all its colours.