HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — France soccer captain Kylian Mbappé warned on Thursday that his country is in a “catastrophic” political situation as it approaches a first far-right government since World War II.
The National Rally achieved strong results – around 33% of the vote nationally – on Sunday in the first round of a rushed election, leaving Marine Le Pen’s party poised to potentially win power.
The second round of legislative elections is on Sunday and Mbappé, one of the most prominent people in France, was asked if he had a message for the nation.
“I think that now, more than ever, you need to go out (to vote),” said Mbappé, who was speaking in Hamburg, Germany, the day before France faced Portugal in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.
“It is an urgent moment. We cannot let our country fall into the hands of these people. It’s urgent – we’ve seen the results, it’s catastrophic.”
Mbappé made a similar call at the start of Euro 2024, when he said that “the extremes are knocking on the door of power”.
Now, there was a sense of urgency to his feelings.
“We really hope this changes,” he said of the election results, “that everyone comes together to vote and vote for the right party.”
President Emmanuel Macron called early elections after a defeat at the hands of the National Rally in the European Parliament elections last month, betting that the far right would not repeat its success in national elections. The move backfired and Le Pen’s rivals are now desperately trying to prevent the National Rally from winning an outright majority in Sunday’s second round.
France players have been regularly asked about the political situation in their country during Euro 2024 press conferences.
Ousmane Dembele said “the alarm bells have sounded” and fellow striker Marcus Thuram went further to say that the French people “need to fight daily so that… the National Rally is not successful”.
The National Rally is the party with a history of racism and xenophobia.
The French football team that won the Euro 2000 title two years after lifting the country’s first World Cup trophy in Paris has been hailed as a model of diversity and unity. The mix of “Black, White, Beur” (Black, White and Arab) players was an echo of the French tricolor of blue, white and red.
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