PARIS – Thousands of French people gathered on Monday evening in the Place de la Concorde in Paris to receive “Les Bleus”, proud of their team despite the defeat and the disorganization of the tributes upon arrival, with several changes of program between the Federation and the government .
As soon as they disembarked after returning from Qatar, the French players got on a bus that took them directly to the heart of the capital, to be able to greet their fans from the balcony of the emblematic Hotel Crillon.
The square greeted them with applause, flares and the shout of “allez Les Bleus” (come on, Blues).
Especially the coach Didier Deschamps, sung by his name, and the great star of the French team, Kylian Mbappé, raised the decibels with euphoria next to the Seine.
“A top performance, he deserved it but unfortunately he didn’t have any luck,” explained a fan who was already waiting two hours before the arrival of the runners-up.
“We are proud of the French team, we are proud of their performance even if it ended badly for them, we are very, very proud of them,” shared another fan who went to the Place de la Concorde with his wife and two children dressed in french flags.
Although there were no speeches nor was it a mass bath with great preparations (apart from the strong safety device), the French internationals were thus able to receive the affection of thousands of fans who braved the cold of the night Parisian after a day of confusion welcome the runners-up.
The PSG striker scored a great goal for the second. Watch the video.
In the early hours of the morning, the French sports minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, had announced a massive reception for the players in Paris at around six in the afternoon, but a few hours later the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët, he denied the initiative in televised statements.
Just an hour and a half later, the same FFF corrected the sports leader and confirmed the greeting to the public at Place de la Concorde at around 8.30pm local time, 60 minutes after the scheduled landing at Charles de Gaulle airport in The French capital.
