He had never experienced this. Corentin, 17, will long remember this first match for the Blues, followed on a terrace in Place Saint-Pierre, on the banks of the Garonne in the Ville Rose, as we remember all his first times: “During the 2018 World Cup, I was 14 years old. When the Stadium (Editor’s note: Toulouse) became French champion again, I was 15, and I had to watch all the games at home because my parents wouldn’t let me out. It’s been over a year that we can no longer vibrate. This time, I couldn’t miss it! “
So, with his friends, he booked a table in one of the bars in this square, which has been frequented for generations by the city’s students, to make sure he had a front row seat. Because the prefecture had banned giant terraced screens in the city center. The bars were forced to feint: the screens, located inside, were turned… outwards. In the streets around, the open windows let you hear TV commentaries.
The first goal shakes the place
On the Place Saint-Pierre, the atmosphere is electric. We come across tricolor flags, blue jerseys from the France team, tunics (pink) from PSG and a flocked OM jersey Zidane. At kickoff, the thermometer displays 32 degrees and the police cars parked since the afternoon have been ordered to move away for the time of the meeting, so as not to heat up spirits, like this Friday evening afterwards. the opening match.
Very quickly, the young people gathered in front of Chez Tonton. The first goal shakes the place. A Marseillaise is performed in chorus. Then a “Go the Blues!” Which makes the decibels explode. It feels like we’re back in the days before Covid. A carefree moment in front of a match of the France team.
The awakening could be painful: the prefecture was waiting for this meeting to decide whether or not it would authorize the retransmission in the bars of the semi-final of the Rugby Top 14, Toulouse-UBB, this Saturday. The town hall is considering organizing a giant broadcast at the Stadium if France reaches… the final. In the meantime, the people of Toulouse were able to breathe the sweet scent of life before for an evening.
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