François Hollande, president of France between 2012 and 2017, joined the chorus of criticism in his country for Qatar’s celebration of the World Cup, though not in favor of the players or media who boycotted the tournament.
“If I were the Head of State, I would not go to Qatar, although I know my position is easier because I am not”he told the media on Thursday at a Sports festival where the former socialist leader spoke about the working conditions in which the stadiums were built and the climate problems of a tournament that will generously use air conditioning.
The former French president, however, did not call for a boycott of the players and pointed out that some of them have a particularly uncomfortable position.
“For a player of PSG (which is controlled by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund), talking about Qatar is not easyI understand,” he said.
In recent weeks, many voices have been raised in France against the World Cup in Qatar. Also this Thursday, deputies of the main left-wing party, La France Insumisa (LFI), demanded that the government of the president, Emmanuel Macron, “stop looking the other way” about what this competition implies in Qatar.
“The World Cup has become a ‘Filthy Cup’: mistreatment of immigrant workers, of whom 6,500 died due to working conditions; human rights and LGBTI rights trampled upon; seven of the eight stadiums where there will be air-conditioned and open-air competition, while our planet burns”, mentions the LFI, France’s third game.
Other French public figures, such as former soccer player Eric Cantona, also raised their voice against the World Cup in Qatar. “A delusion and a lie,” said the former Manchester United stalwart, who after his retirement devoted himself to cinema and social activism.
Some French media have started these days to discuss the possibility of boycotting the tournament. Le Quotidien de la Réunion, a publication from that Indian Ocean island, was one of the movers to announce it would not cover the event.
Source: La Verdad
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