July 5 – France captain Kylian Mbappé got stuck into politics on Thursday by warning his country is in a “catastrophic” situation as it lurches closer to a first far-right government since World War II.
The second round of the French legislative elections are on Sunday with anti-immigration party National Rally (RN) leading in first place.
Speaking in Hamburg on the eve of today’s Euro 2024 quarterfinal with Portugal, Mbappé, one of the world’s most high-profile sporting superstars, commented: “I think now, more than ever, you need to get (out to vote).”
Mbappé, whose family originally come from Algeria and Cameroon, stressed that he didn’t want to “represent a country” that didn’t embody his “values.”
“It is an urgent juncture. We cannot let our country fall into the hands of these people. It’s really urgent – we saw the results, it is catastrophic. We really hope this is going to change, that everyone is going to rally together to go and vote, and vote for the correct party.”
France’s players have been asked regularly about the political situation back home during news conferences at Euro 2024.
Ousmane Dembele said “the alarm bell has been sounded” and fellow forward Marcus Thuram went further by saying French people “need to fight daily so that … the National Rally does not succeed.”
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