Football: the Symbol of Multi-Cultural France?

Apparently Le Pen has made all sorts of racist remarks about how the French team has "too many black players." The starting line-up is black, brown, white; of the few white players (Sagnol, Ribery, Barthez, off the top of my head), Ribery has converted to Islam like his Muslim wife. This team-- like the victorious 1998 team-- is heralded as a victory for French multiculturalism. This is a France of diverse colors. This is the face of France.

And for the euphoric moments of the World Cup, folks seem to put aside their differences, and think positively about the future of France, without focusing on the tensions and inequalities that stirred the riots in the Parisian suburbs within the past year.

After Saturday's gorgeous match, where Zidane's France "beat Brazil at its own game" (to quote the NYT), the streets of normally-quiet Limoges went wild. Cars spinning in circles around round-abouts, horns blaring, flags waving, fans hanging out the side of car windows. We walked down the street to watch the circus; couldn't possibly go to sleep, on such a high after the game. The Algerian men at the corner cafe assembled outside and blared a horn at every passer-by; they invited us in for drinks on the house. Kids draped in flags and carrying bottles of beer, paraded through the streets. A group of Africans in traditional garb smiled (though another group was noticeably antagonistic and shouted support for Portugal).

And this was only the quarter-final. I can't imagine the mayhem that the semis will inspire.