A seemingly innocuous tweet embedded with humour & sarcasm has set the ball rolling on the racial divide that exists in the French society. Moments after Les Bleus lifted the football world cup for the second time, the Big B of Bollywood tweeted, “Thats it then ... AFRICA won the World Cup 2018”. No doubt Amitabh Bachchan received a lot of flak on the social media but the subtle hint is not lost at all. This is though, not something new. The 2006 World cup final was billed as a battle between African XI & Italy – a not so indirect dig at the French team built mostly around players of African descent.
 
It is said that this French team holds the mirror to French society of what a multicultural, multi-religious & multiethnic French society at its best would look like. Of the 23 players in the young French squad,  15 are of African & Arab descent. It was different in 1998, when only 3 players - one player with Arab origin - Zinedine Zidane - and two with African ancestry, Patrick Viera, who grew up in a marginalised suburb, and Marcel Dessailly, born abroad, in Ghana were the stars; a far cry from today’s team where barring Antoine Griezman all the pivots of the French team are born of immigrant parents.  
 
Post the victory, what will remain etched in the memory as an emblem of unity will be a shirtless Paul Pogba wrapped around in French tri-colour flag celebrating in the World’s biggest sporting stage & defender Samuel Umtiti – born of migrant parents – clutching onto the French flag and displaying his nationalism both of them a custodian of France’s second golden generation. Today the team might look as the perfect example of a melting pot – a showpiece for multi-ethnic, multicultural society but all along its journey it wasn’t the cohesive force that it is today.
 
Turn the clock 8 years back – group stage of World Cup 2010 - France playing for the big tournament in South Africa. And it was nothing less than an implosion when the team was wreaked havoc by insinuations and charges of divided loyalty after players’ strikes, rows, resignations and recriminations left the Les Bleus in tatters. It all began after the football federation had sent striker Nicolas Anelka back home after he argued with the coach Raymond Domenech & subsequently refused to apologise. The players refused to train. It didn't help matters though team captain & ace defender Patrice Evra was supported by white players and all those who were a part & parcel of the infamous ‘rebellion’ were suspended. French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, in a widely circulated interview, post France’s disastrous World Cup campaign, went even further saying “it's time to no longer select arrogant and unintelligent thugs,” a not-so-oblique reference to the background of the footballers of African descent who rose from the squalid suburbs of crime-ridden housing estates. He was even more direct & didn’t mince his words when he suggested a complete overhaul of the team, “we must take note of ethnic and religious divisions that undermine this team.” If it wasn’t enough the football team – flagbearer of France’s composite identity – was mired in a race row over alleged quotas for ethnic players a few months later. Even, Lauren Blanc, member of the invincible 1998 side, and who replaced 2010 coach Domenech was alleged to have been privy to a discussion on the introduction of quotas for young players, aged 12 and 13, based on their racial background as per as a report by website Mediapart. Though the Federation vehemently denied the allegations but nonetheless the racial profiling & controversy had touched a raw nerve. Even Henri Guaino, adviser to the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy had to wade in to douse the fire that threatened to engulf the backbone of the team.  

It all began post the 1998 triumph when France lifted the coveted trophy for the first time in its soil under captain Didier Deschamps – now the coach. The slogan that had permeated the air “black, blanc, beur” meaning black, white or Arab encompassed the ideals of the French Republic. The on-field success was the perfect example of how the Gallic nation had been able to assimilate & integrate the those whose parents came as migrants. The team was a testimony that anyone irrespective of their background can reach the pinnacle of fame in French society – something that was only demonstrable in USA under the great American dream.

But it also gave rise to the far right with their most prominent leader Jean-Marie Le Pen arguing that some players were foreigners who didn’t sing or rather didn’t know the national anthem. A few of the players in turn like Marcel Desailly even campaigned against Le Pen in 2002 when the leader of Front National reached the second round of presidential election. Robert Pires, now retired, but a leading force of Les Bleus in 2002 event went to the extent of saying that several footballers would refuse to take part in the World cup if the extreme right wins & made clear that he doesn’t want to be governed by the likes of Le Pen. Thankfully Jacques Chiraq won.

For now, everything looks rosy with the government deciding to honour the World Cup-winning heroes by renaming metro stations in their names. But the apprehensions of opening up of old wounds still remain. Lest anyone forgets, in the last few years France had to bear a series of terrorist attacks, which were blamed on the country’s liberal immigration policies. Ironically, despite the high unemployment rate & crime ridden suburbs the most visible signs of the what the triumph means was evident in some of these suburbs like Bondy who’s most famous resident is Kylian Mbappe, the new golden boy of World football – a clear sign that President Emmanuel Macron must do more to ensure the integration that is at the heart of holding the Republic together to make immigrants feel at home.

Equality, fraternity, Liberty were the high ideals of the French revolution that not only survived the test of time but were the bedrock on which the French democracy is entrenched upon. The World Cup success has provided the perfect glue that France needs to heal the festering wounds of racial & religious divide & chart a new course but the larger question is will it be enough & would the World cup victory be seen just an ephemeral moment of celebration & an aberration when it comes to important question of an all-pervasive unity? Will Les Bleus be able to do what politicians & the society at large have failed for generations?