Mariano Rajoy has sparked a political row with France after claiming there are ‘no French players’ in the country’s national football team.
The comments, made in a newspaper column, prompted a furious response from ministers in Emmanuel Macron’s government.
They accused the former Spanish prime minister of making ‘racist’ and ‘absolutely unacceptable’ remarks.
Writing for El Debate on Friday, Rajoy praised his country’s prospects in the tournament but said France had ‘a very high level, yes, but without French players.’
The remark appeared to refer to the ethnic backgrounds of many members of Didier Deschamps’ squad, despite all 26 players holding French nationality.
In reality, 23 of the squad were born in France, while the remaining three – Michael Olise, Marcus Thuram and Brice Samba – were born abroad but are also French citizens.
France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, condemned the comments during an interview with BFM TV, saying they were ‘absolutely unacceptable’ and did not reflect what modern France represents.
‘France is a country of diversity, where everyone can find their place,’ he said, warning that such remarks fuel racist abuse directed at France’s players, particularly captain Kylian Mbappe.
‘We still have a long way to go to live together with cohesion. France is a Republic in which everyone has their place, whatever their origin, beliefs or religion, provided they respect the common rules of the Republic.’
Nuñez also rejected narratives promoted by both the far right and far left that divide the country between a so-called ‘historic France’ and a ‘new France.’
‘There is only one France,’ he said.
Other members of the French government also criticised Rajoy’s remarks.
Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou said: ‘With every victory by Les Bleus, the same racist obsessions and insults resurface. These are not mere slips of the tongue. They represent a methodical and normalised hatred of France and what it stands for.’
She even suggested the French Football Federation should consider taking legal action.
Anti-discrimination minister Aurore Bergé also condemned what she described as Rajoy’s ‘repeated racist remarks’, saying: ‘It’s time they stopped and that sport returned to being judged on talent alone.’
The criticism extended beyond the French government.
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said: ‘France is not an ethnic nation. It has no skin colour or religion. It is a political nation united around the values of the Republic.’
Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel added: ‘Yesterday it was a Paraguayan senator, today it’s Spain’s former prime minister. They cannot help expressing disgusting racism in an attempt to unsettle our magnificent French team.’
The French Embassy in Spain also entered the debate, posting on X that ‘all players in the French national team are French’, adding that 23 of the 26 were born in France and the other three are French citizens despite being born overseas.
The controversy comes just days before France’s World Cup semi-final against Spain and has reignited a long-running debate over immigration, identity and what it means to represent France.
