Clarín in Paris: France beat Argentina in the World Cup final in sub-zero temperatures and without a “fanzone” to watch the match

Mobile phone calls, WhatsApp chats, sms, emails. After the triumph of France on Morocco in Qatar World Cupthe formulation of clarion in Paris it was revolutionized with an unimaginable frenzy of requests for interviews, statements, invitations to French television studios and contacts in Argentina. The reason, the final between the French team and Argentina.

The final he will face Messi and Mbappe journalistic madness and its usual marketing among colleagues has awakened. And one concern arises in this part of Europe: “What is the Qatari dollar?” They are also surprised by the decision of the Argentine president Alberto Fernández not to accompany the national team to the final in Doha. Difficult to give an answer.

World Cup fever gripped journalists who had never written about football but were overwhelmed by this final in Qatar, a competition that proved to be strategic. It’s the first World Cup in a billionaire Gulf autocratic monarchy that doesn’t play football but owns the psgthe Parisian club where Messi and Mbappé play, the two brilliant protagonists of this duel between the titans at the Lusail stadium in Doha.

Macron carries the wounded

President Emmanuel Macron he will travel specifically to Doha for the final, despite political differences on human rights with the emirate. He has invited his friend, President Alberto Fernández to go together and hopes for his response. By plane he will bring the players of the French team who had been disappointed in the previous season due to injury: Paul Pogba, with knee problems, Karim Benzema, who has kept his name on the roster despite the discomfort in his thigh, and N´ Golo Kanté, among others, it will be part of the game. First, the president will attend a meeting with African heads of state on Saturday.

Although Macron has only gone to the semi-finals between France and Morocco, he has maintained permanent contact with the team, with the players, moved by his arrival in the dressing room to celebrate. Macron loves football and believes Didier Deschamps should remain coach of France.

While in Qatar, despite his busy schedule, Macron wanted to visit the Zouk (bazaar) and the Corniche to take the temperature of an unfamiliar city. Then he was received in the refrigerated and imperial Loggia of the Emir, who watches the games from there. But the head of state preferred to follow the game with passion in the stands, together with the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino and the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graet.

Next to him was another VIP. raid of thibalt, member of the French special military forces, wounded in the war in Burkina Faso in the battle against terrorism, where he lost both legs. An absolute football fan, he was there too, in the locker room, along with the players.

“Don’t give up, gentlemen. We have to bring this cup back. Here is one who does not give up and who got away with it,” Macron said, pointing at it. The excited players hugged Thibault. It was the most humane and epic motivational act. They say coach Deschamps burst into tears.

If the French win, the team will heroically tour the Champs-Élysées but Macron will not receive them at the palace on Monday because he will be travelling. The reception ceremony will be another day.

Predictions: 50 and 50

In France they don’t bet on soccer like they do in Great Britain. But specialists say the calculations are 50/50 for the two teams. They are the two favorites of the World Cup, face to face.

Jerome Rothen, a French ex-Newcastle player turned sportswriter, believes that “they’ve rehired Argentina in Lionel Messi. But there are other players who have shown character, personality and talent. Messi can’t do it all by himself. A player like Enzo Fernández has done very well in midfield. Julián Alvarez made a lot of effort in attack and they succeeded. Argentina has the ability to defend well, with a great goalkeeper in Emiliano Martínez, who takes up a lot of space and is very good at shooting on target,” explained Rothen. For him “the final will be open and balanced”.

Former French world champion Emmanuel Petit believes the Blues are the favourites. “I don’t agree with Girolamo. We are the favourites, we are the champions. We are the team to defeat,” he said.

The French are only thinking of finding a plan to stop Messi. This is the concern of the fans, who hope to see the final on Sunday with friends.

Opinions below zero

On a sub-zero day in Paris, with snow threatening, Pierre Dubois orders his family’s Christmas lunch at the Alligre market in eastern Paris. He would have loved to be in Doha, but he thinks the prices are astronomical to go with his son and “it’s been too difficult a year” for his small power company.

“We will see a great match. They’re the best. Didier Deschamps’ big problem will be how to make sure Messi doesn’t run away, that his Aladdin’s lamp doesn’t light up. Golo Kanté is injured and he will not be able to play that role. There is not even Pogba. In that answer lies triumph or defeat,” he admits as he orders his “gigot de agneau,” his leg of lamb.

At the Alligre café, the men surround this very surprised correspondent. Everyone wants to comment: there are French, Moroccans, Tunisians, Algerians with dual nationality, shouting and arguing with each other. Loyalties split between Argentina and France, following the defeat of Morocco. Everyone praises Messi, asks about that “garcon Mac Allister”, who “plays like an alien”, and suggests: “And you, how will you stop Antoine Griezmann?”.

Griezmann and his style “will be hell” for the Argentine team. With his impeccable Spanish from his years in Spanish football, his love for his team-mate, his smile and his genuine joy of playing, Griezmann is the new star of the French squad. An “all external” who was given the freedom by Didier Deschamps and is the nightmare of the French team for the opponents. If they don’t stop him physically, Antoine will deploy all his talent to help the team, Kylian Mbappé and top scorer Olivier Giroud in this final.

But the French are happy. His team is a real team, which plays cheerfully, with good spirit. “Have you seen the smile of Mbappé, Griezmann or Olivier Giroud, even when they lose the ball? There’s a malice, a pleasure to playing that we’ve never seen before. A team complicity”, underlines Hervé Roux, at the table of the Alligre café.

Paris without screens for the final

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has banned screens in several places in Paris for watching the match, due to the violation of human rights and abuses by the workers who built the stadiums in Qatar.

Some French cities have ignored Hidalgo’s calls to boycott the competition in this final. They believe this “national union” is more important than the joy of a final. A sort of spirit similar to that of 1998, when he united France by winning the World Cup.

“A mistake,” said Gil Avérous, the Republican mayor of Châteauroux. “The French cannot be penalized for international events where they have nothing to do. Moments to unite the population are rare and a final between France and Argentina is one of them. I will install the fanzone,” he explained.

“The fanzone”, in its French version, is nothing more than a fan zone, where there will be screens to watch the final. The mayor believes that things can be framed there, avoid excesses with good safety and have fun. The screens are already installed in the Burgundy region.

“It’s not an endorsement of the fact that the World Cup is played in Qatar. It can be said that St Nazaire goes against the tide but I want these moments of sharing with the community, of popular unity, to be all together. I think we need it,” explained Socialist Mayor David Samzun.

They were joined by Toulon, Troyes, Perpignan and Mâcon, the birthplace of Antoine Griezmann.

The Argentines began to organize themselves, district by district of Paris, dressed as if they were going to the field and with the songs of the bar. Bar owners love them. They imposed the Fernet fashion.

The Argentine embassy on rue Cimarosa has installed a large projector to watch the match. But La Bombonera Argentina will be at the bar Return, at 18 rue Dauphine, where everyone gathers for major sporting events. There will be room for hug no matter what.

Paris, correspondent