They make us vibrate! These players of the XV of France, stunning against Wales on Saturday night (32-30), once again won over a large audience. Some 7 million viewers at the end of the match on France 2: another nice score which places the public channel at the top of the audiences, ahead of TF1 and its telecrochet The Voice. So how did this XV of France, on which everything seems to slide, the Covid epidemics like the defeats against England, become the new winter hit?
A need for unifying events. After two months of curfew, it is now a new confinement that affects 16 French departments. The prospect of sharing a moment of celebration in a group has never seemed so distant. So the impression of being able to experience a great collective victory, together despite the distance, that is priceless. Frustrated fans have taken to social media. And the examples are numerous, at the time of the liberating test of Brice Dulin, of cries in front of the TV, of awakened children, of champagne opened in the confined rooms of French people too happy to finally have a reason for rejoicing.
Live virtual exchanges. “The WhatsApp worked at full speed,” confirms Romain, who used to organize outdoor screenings in his club in Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), which had become impossible with the curfew. Instant messaging is a way to share your frustrations, analyzes or outbursts of joy over a match live with your friends. But that’s not always enough. Failing to meet in the streets, “we ended up organizing a video aperitif at the end of the match with friends,” says Anselme, a Franco-Irish fan who had two victories to celebrate on Saturday.
READ ALSO> France-Wales (32-30): return to the twelve minutes that changed everything
A popular young generation. The positive aspect of the XV of France is also this new generation of players, in the wake of Charles Ollivon, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, which seems to be good for morale. “I don’t know anything about it but I followed these players at the end of the match, it was exciting. What stubbornness! »Wondered Evelyne, 70, who watched a rugby match to the end for the first time… A sign that this French team is attracting a new audience. According to a recent poll, the popularity of the XV of France is at its highest (83% of favorable opinions).
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The new masters of suspense. Rugby alone is not enough to do moral good. It is also necessary that the show is there. And for a film to be successful, you need a good script. On this side, the French were served. For a year, the two defeats against England (19-22, December 6, 2020, and 20-23, March 13, 2021), the victory in Ireland (15-13, February 14) or that of this Saturday against Wales (32-30) were all played in the last minutes. See you next Friday for the epilogue of the successful series, with France-Scotland (9 p.m. at the Stade de France).
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