According to the head of the French football federation, President Emmanuel Macron intervened to request that the players embrace fans after France lost the World Cup final, which resulted in a brief public ceremony.
After losing to Argentina on penalties the previous evening, France’s players initially intended to return home immediately on Monday, according to a statement from Noel Le Graet, the president of the French Football Federation.
“Under the weight of the disappointment, the sadness and such strong emotions, I understood this choice and I respected it,” he said.
“The situation changed around 10:00 am (on Monday) after an exchange with the president, who wanted a moment of communion. Naturally I accepted along with the team,” he added.
The French players eventually showed up for a little period of time on the balcony of the five-star Crillon hotel at the historic Place de la Concorde on Monday night after a confusing day of conflicting messages.
A crowd of some 50,000 people, many of whom had been waiting for more than four hours in the gloom and cold, gathered in the public plaza to wave, cheer, and sing the national anthem.
The players waved regally from the balcony behind a large police cordon, but several in the crowd complained that they were hardly visible despite the generally joyous mood.
Several French players said they were delighted by the sight of the crowd.
“Frankly, it’s magnificent, it warms the heart, it’s a great pleasure to see that we were able to make so many French people proud and happy,” forward Marcus Thuram told TF1 TV.
Reaction in France has been overwhelmingly supportive of the national team which came close to retaining the World Cup despite a series of injuries to senior players such as Ballon D’Or winner Karim Benzema and a virus in the camp last week.
A lot of discussion has been generated by Macron’s performance at the final on Sunday at the Lusail Stadium outside of Doha.
During the game, the 44-year-old football enthusiast was spotted leaping from his seat, and at the conclusion, as the players collapsed to the ground after the penalty shootout, he could be seen descending to comfort them.
After the game, the centrist gave a pep talk in the locker room, drawing criticism from several domestic rivals and analysts who felt he was encroaching too much on the team’s privacy.
