French weekly magazines review 22 June 2018

Football-mad France celebrates the football World Cup triumph of "Les Bleus", but the "African origin" of several French superstars generates controversy and nauseous rhetoric in populist circles.

French weekly magazines DR

"France on top of the world"; "all blue nation", lessons of life from Frenchman called Didier Deschamps and teenage sensation Kilian Mbappe and President Macron reaches for the skies.

Such are the headlines of this week’s magazines as the French people continue to enjoy a simple moment of happiness following France’s crowning as world champions at the 2018 Football World Cup in Russia last Sunday.

L’Express pays a glowing tribute to the man who made the French dreams of a second golden world cup star a wish come true French manager Didier Deschamps. The publication paints a colourful portrait of the so-called 2-star general who captained the French team that won the coveted trophy 20 years ago.

L’Express describes him as a leader who cares a damn about his image but gives his all to ensure that he character leaves an impact on his entourage on and off the football pitch. Bernard Tapie, President of French giants Marseille when they won the Champions League in 1993, lionizes Deschamps for re-stitching the clothe torn into shreds by the Knysna strikers.

According to l’Express, even if this is just about football and only football, becoming World Champions has generated a feeling of happiness and pride in the French people; which goes beyond football, to a point where through the love they now have for their national team, they have fallen in love with themselves in a manner never experienced before.

Marianne marvels at how quickly the entire nation allowed itself to be swept away by the world cup euphoria. Yet the left-leaning magazine was quick to observe that they neither forgot the hard realities of today’s world not left any room for the political hijacking of this rare happy moment.

In an editorial, rightwing Le Point says without any intention of spoiling the party, there a millions of French citizens not unhappy that this world cup finally came to an end.

That it says was especially true for the string of expert who filing past TV studios to give clarified and les clarifying opinions about the tournament, eminent university dons drawing unlikely geopolitical lessons of the matches, sociologists linking in a daring manner the success of "Les Bleus" to the breakdown of the social ladder in France.

But as Le Point explains, this World Cup was becoming an internal nightmare to leaders of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, considering the "unbelievable zeal with which l tore down the French squad largely composed of young players of African origin".

The weekly says Madame Le Pen’s 11 million voters probably went through "terribly pain watching the rest of the French people celebrate the exploits of the likes of Ngolo Kante of Malian origin, Blaise Matuidi with Congolese ancestors, Paul Pogba with Guinean roots, with Samuel Umtiti and Kilian Mbappe of Cameroonian origin.

According to right-wing magazine, by all accounts France's winning of the 2018 World Cup was a "triumph over their nauseous anti-migrant rhetoric".

Le Point also pours scorn on "some rubbish", it claims is being circulated, without any scientific evidence,  by the likes of Economy Minister, Bruno Lemaire, that the World Cup victory was a boon for economic growth.

The publication states, for the record, that when Spain realized its magical triple by winning the Europe in 2008, the World Cup in 2010 and the euro again in 2012, the Kingdom was oing through the worst crisis in its history with jobless figures plunging from 9 to 25 percent in 4 years.