Football Anthems by DirkBeauregard Pro @ 15.10.2008 – 08:28:00
It was hardly the "friendly" match that it was supposed to be. For friendly, read "grudge".
France Vs Tunisia at the Stade de France in Paris last night. 80,000 supporters, most of them Tunisian. Even during the pre match warm up, the crowd booed and hissed at the French players. As the national anthems were played, the crowd whistled and booed all the way through the Marseillaise. Throughout the match, French players were jeered at, except Franck Ribbery,a recent convert to Islam.
So, this morning's papers are full of quotes from "scandalised" and "shocked" minisiters and sporting celebrities. How dare the Tunisian supporters boo and whistle as the national anthem is played. Even more "shocking", the majority of Tunisian fans were born in France and thus French citizens, BUT, if this generation of French born North Africans won't sing the Marseillaise, it is perhaps because they don't identify with it, or even feel part of the Republic lauded by the song.
The Marseillaise is a stiring song, far better than our own limp national anthem. The Marseillaise is a call to arms - aux armes citoyens - it was however written with a mindset and within a social and political context that is very different from today.
That French-born Tunisians are unwilling to sing the Marseillaise, I can quite understand. For over 130 years, the Marseillaise was sung throughout North Africa, by the French, who were the colonial power. Why should you want to sing the natioanl anthem of a former "occupying" power?
There is also the question if "integration" - a very French idea. We are all (or should be) part of this great Republican scheme, but I daresay when you live on an out-of-town sink estate, your empmloyment prospects are zero, and all the state offers you are the same old, ineffective training programmes, just repackaged every time with new, snappy names . . . well I daresay you don't feel much a part of anything. You owe no allegience to this place you have been born, because this place has done nothing for you, however, you will owe allegience to your immediate community with all its social and racial baggage. Mind you, this does not excuse you from booing the national anthem of another country or does it? Some Tunisian supporters interviewed after the match called it "a bit of fun". It was probably no more than that, and the fact that it has become very fashionable for young North African kids to boo and hiss at the French natuional anthem.
Mind you, for a long time, there are many of the French, who themselves would have laughed, squirmed, even apologised at the very fact that the national anthem had been played at all. During most of the last three decades it has been
politically "incorrect" to play the Marseillaise, or even fly the national "Tricoleur" flag.
The old red white and blue was synonymous with the far right wing "Front National" led by Jean Marie Le Pen. The FN appropriated the flag and the anthem. Strangley, the values of the Front National were diametrically opposed to the revoulutionary call to arms of the Marseillaise. The Tricoleur flag was also very un-national front. The red white and blue still has the white royalist streak in it, but it does not bare the royalist Fleur de Lys, a symbol used by the National Front.
Then, during the last presidential election campaign, something strange happened, socialist party presidential candidate, Segolène Royal, began to sing the Marseillaise at the end of her rallies. It was strange to see the supporters even of the moderate left, ill at ease, squirming and mumbling their way through the words. The Marseilaise was for fascists or nationalists or the right and on the left, singing the national anthem was "not the done thing". Some people at the rallies and meetings looked even "ashamed" to be singing their national anthem.
Next, along came Sarkozy, who let it be known that the Marseilaise would now be taught to all kids at primary school. Howls of indignation from some leftward leaning teacher unions - BUT, Mrs S got his way, and now they are getting to learn the Marseillaise in school just like they did up until 1968 - and thetre you have the reason for the "downgrading" of the national anthem. It was that "revolutionary" internationalist generation of 68 in their Chairman Mao and Che Guevara T shirts,who deemed the national anthem to be reactionary and out of synch with the values and events of the period. The Marseillaise was banished. The 68 generation are now in their 60,s, it is their "children" who are picking up on the Marseillaise once more - getting back what they were deprived of due to the principles of another generation.
So, kids are learning the national anthem again. Primary school teachers aren't making a big issue of it though. They hand out a photocopy with the wores of the first verse, sing it through once and hey presto. We'll never get to the American point of singing the anthem and saluting the flag in class every day. Sarkozy is a right winger, he is a patriot, he is all out for the interests of France, he is cast in the mold of De Gualle himself, however he is no nationalist and in keeping with all Frenchmen,is very restrained in his "patriotism".
The French are proud of their country, but they don't do the flag-waving, hand on heart, "by jingo" patriotism. The French are "closet patriots". Even as recently as three years ago, no one would have dared fly the French flag from a public building - not because they were afraid about offending ethnic minorities (as in G, but simply because they didn't want to be seen as ultra nationalists, cum fascists, and the French aren't a very "flag waving " lot anyway. They'll never turn their natioanl flag into a bumper sticker. Perhaps they should though. Perhaps the French should adopt some football style nationalism or, like one politician suggested - just give up playing the natioanl anthem at matches.
North-african immigrants hiss at France's national anthem
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Originally Posted by Gauvin
