France's defense of their World Cup title ended in defeat on penalties against Argentina in a sensational final, leading some French players, including Bayern Munich's Kingsley Coman, to suffer racist abuse on social media.
But even when France won the World Cup in 2018, debates still surrounded the national team regarding the origins of its players, especially those of African heritage.
Before the semifinals, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport called the game between France and Morocco an "African derby" because of the numbers of French players who are of African descent. On Twitter, the popular comedy account Troll Football referred to the semifinal as the "first African" one ever to its 2.5 million followers.
In France, this debate is nonexistent outside of the right-wing media sphere, because the national team has always been a place open to players from all backgrounds. Some of the most successful French teams have been led by players whose parents or grandparents were immigrants: Raymond Kopa (Poland), Michel Platini (Italy), Zinedine Zidane (Algeria) and Kylian Mbappe (Algeria and Cameroon).
Integration of immigrants
In France, nationality is inseparable from the land. Being French is first and foremost linked to being born on French soil. Thus, having players representing France even if their parents were born and raised abroad is a non-issue to the vast majority of French people. Most players in the current national squad were born in various parts of France (Paris, Normandy, Burgundy, the Antilles, etc.) and are therefore French in a traditional sense.
The people who like to point out that the French national team is mostly composed of descendants of immigrants do not do it for the same sets of reasons. Some are racists and ignorant and cannot understand that a French person could be Black. Some are just jealous of France's immense success since 1998. But some do it to raise awareness regarding France's colonial past.
This was famously the case during Trevor Noah's segment about France's win at the World Cup 2018. "I get it, they have to say it's the French team. But look at those guys. You don't get that tan by hanging out in the south of France, my friends."
If the intentions of The Daily Show presenter were good, his remarks were met with vitriol in France. Most French people, including ones with foreign backgrounds, thought it lacked understanding of French society and the long-standing integration of immigrants and their families.
Nicolas Batum, a player with the National Basketball Association in the US and French national team member, was one of the most vocal critics of Noah's commentary. In a tweet, the former Charlotte Hornets player explained that his origins (his dad is from Cameroon) did not make him any less French.
'Fully French'
Despite an obviously fraught relationship between Africa and France, one of the former colonial powers in the region, and some very obvious racism issues in the country, most children born in France from African parents feel French. They do not like being called "the Africans," and they never deny their heritage.
Sons and daughters of immigrants regularly go to their parents' native country on summer vacations, speak the language of their ancestors and share in their African families' deep cultural and emotional bonds. But by being mostly referred to by their origins or race, those people, myself included, feel stigmatized.
As a Frenchman whose parents were born in Tunisia, the idea that I would not be fully French is ridiculous. When I go abroad, I always present myself as a French person if asked about my nationality.
I'm grateful to have been raised in a Tunisian home where Arabic and the culture of my ancestors was taught to me, but I spent the vast majority of my life in France. I was born in Paris and grew up in one of the Asian neighborhoods of the town. There I studied, played football and met my friends who all have different backgrounds (France of course, Togo, Spain, Egypt, Antilles, Vietnam, Laos, DR Congo, Italy...). I am a fully French person.
'Our idea of unity'
I don't think French national players, regardless of their roots, should have to justify their desire to play for the French national team, a country they were born and raised in. A country they learn how to play football in.
I also don't think the origins of the players play down the immense amount of work done by the French football academies all around the country. Does French football take advantage of French colonial history? Of course, nobody is saying otherwise. But the players should not have to suffer that burden. Nor do the people of France, for whom this team is a symbol.
Since 1998, the French national team has become an extension of all of us because it always looks like us. Football is the place where our idea of unity, by way of our diversity, shines brightest - win or lose.
Edited by: Michael Da Silva