The French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, has considered this Sunday "absolutely unacceptable" the statements of the former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who in an opinion column maintained that the French football team has "a very high level, yes, but without Frenchmen".
"If that statement is accurate, it is absolutely unacceptable. It does not reflect what France is at all," said the Interior Minister in an interview with BMF TV, distancing himself from the former Spanish leader's words.
In the article published in El Debate after Spain's qualification for the World Cup semi-finals, Rajoy praised the French team's sporting history and its position at the top of the FIFA rankings, while emphasizing that it has a squad of "very high level" although "yes, without Frenchmen," alluding to the origin of the footballers.
In response, Nuñez stressed that "France is a diverse country where everyone can develop" and defended that "there is a France, simply, which is a Republic in which everyone must be able to find their place."
The minister added that "I think we move away from that when it comes to things like these. We do not give an image of hope to many young people who live in the neighborhoods and who are citizens of the republic," warning of the impact of this type of message.
French Embassy Reclaims Players' Nationality
In light of the controversy, the French Embassy in Spain issued a brief statement in which it emphasizes that "of the 26 players, 23 were born in France."
"Without wishing to get into a controversy, it is worth remembering the facts: all the players of the French national team are French. Of the 26 players, 23 were born in France. The 3 who were born abroad are also French," the diplomatic legation specifies.
Request for Legal Action and Denunciation of Racism
The Minister Delegate for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination, Aurore Bergé, has stated that "repeated racist slips are unbearable" and has expressed her support for the national team.
"The French team shows the best of ourselves: a France that wins, that dares, that plays as a team, that resists adversity. A team that we love and that makes us proud," she highlighted.
Bergé also insisted that "it is time for them to stop and for sport to return to being sport: a place where you are judged by talent and by no other criterion."
In parallel, the minister for Overseas Territories, Naïma Moutchou, has called on the French Football Federation to initiate "all possible legal actions" against Rajoy's statements.
"With every victory of the Bleus, the same obsessions and racist insults resurface. These are not 'slips'. It is a methodical and trivialized hatred of France and what it is," she denounces in a message disseminated on the social network X.