Drownout France

Le Foot

Le Foot

Rooting against the Germans. 02 Juin.

The World Cup is gripping the nation. When France lost the opening match to Senegal last week, the evening news spent 20 minutes reporting the local reactions of football fans from a dozen French regions and from Senegal: pictures of blue France fans and of dancing Senegalis.

At the Hotel de Ville in the center of Paris, in the big square (where they have ice skating in winter), there is an enormous TV screen showing all the matches. During the second match, against Uruguay, the square was packed like Times Square on New Year's Eve. Every sidewalk restuarant or sandwich bar had a television tuned to the match with a half dozen guys standing around watching. Bars were packed. Many shops were closed for the 90 minutes from 1.30pm to 3pm, while the guy inside went next door to the furniture shop and watched with the furniture shopkeeper on the television inside the showroom cabinet. Back at the apartment on the 5th floor, with the windows open, you could hear every run on goal as people cheered in the streets.

Zidane hasn't played the first two matches due to injury, like Achilles sulking at the opening of the Iliad. The hero of Le Mondial 1998, of the European championship in 2000, and of his league team's championship in 2002, the doctors have cleared him to return against Denmark. The French must win by 2 goals if they are to clear to the Round of 16. A stage of high drama for the returning hero. Can he deliver?

Posted by amol at June 9, 2002 12:22 PM