"J'ai honte" : Pedro Sánchez présente ses excuses à la France, après les propos racistes de Rajoy sur les Bleus
"I am so ashamed," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu and Brigitte Macron in Paris on Tuesday, in a clear reference to comments made by his predecessor Mariano Rajoy, who described Les Bleus as a team "without French people."
The scene was captured by cameras on the sidelines of the July 14th parade, when Mr. Sánchez was greeted by the head of government and the First Lady at the foot of the official stand, a few hours before the France-Spain World Cup semi-final.
In these images, the Spanish Prime Minister can be seen placing his hands on his chest, bowing slightly in apology to Sébastien Lecornu and Brigitte Macron and saying: "I am so ashamed", with Spanish media suggesting an exchange about Mariano Rajoy's remarks.
When contacted by AFP, Pedro Sánchez's office said they "had no information" about this discussion.
At the heart of the debate is an opinion piece published Friday in the media outlet "El Debate", in which Mariano Rajoy, the former head of the Spanish conservative government (2011-2018), argues that France has a "very high-level" team, however "without any French players".
These statements sparked a heated controversy and players from the Spanish national team also defended the French team, ahead of the semi-final between the two countries scheduled for Tuesday at 7:00 PM GMT in the United States.
The statement by the former Spanish leader, whose government fell in 2018 amid charges of illegal financing of his party, immediately drew reactions from the political class in France, as well as in Spain.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez deemed these remarks "absolutely unacceptable," while French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated that France "has no skin color. Any statement to the contrary is stupid, racist, or a combination of both."
For his part, Pedro Sánchez had described these statements as "xenophobic" on Sunday on the social network X.
"May the best man win and may racism lose," the Spanish Prime Minister added.
AFP
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