Insulting the Anthem

17 October 2008



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French Soccer Fans Boo La Marseilles

Wednesday, the Stade de France was the scene of a friendly soccer match between France and its former colony Tunisia. The game almost didn't happen. A few hundred fans booed during the singing of the French national anthem. Every politician from President Nicolas Sarkozy on down was enraged.

Time reported, “Most of the booing came not from visiting Tunisians, but from fans born and raised in France. Such booing has come to be used by ethnic-Arab French soccer fans to protest the racial, social and economic discrimination suffered by those not fortunate enough to be among the stars of les Bleus. It's hardly coincidental that previous outbreaks of anthem booing (and resulting expressions of indignation by politicians) occurred before a France-Algeria match in 2001, a France-Morocco game in 2007.”

So angered was the president that he dragged the head of the French soccer federation in for a tongue lashing. Mr. Sarkozy demanded to know why the game wasn't canceled. Should it occur again, the French team is under orders to walk off the pitch should the booing start at any future game. This is silly, since any such action would result in a forfeited game. It's an easy way for fans of other teams to beat the French, boo their anthem.

French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie went even further in silliness. She has ordered that the video of Wednesday's game be used to find out who was jeering. She intends to prosecute any identified offenders for bringing “insult to the national anthem.” It's safe to say that any defendant would eventually be cleared by the European Court of Human Rights.

The problem is the failure of France to integrate its ethnic Arab citizens and residents into the mainstream of French society. Were they to feel like equals in France, they wouldn't have any reason not to sing along. There is no desire to “bring insult to the national anthem” when people identify with the nation that the anthem praises.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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