Lens (AFP)
"A great joy", but also a "big fear". Supporters of RC Lens, officially promoted to Ligue 1 last week, enjoy this return to the elite. But with a touch of concern: when will they be able to come back and sing at Bollaert?
A few days after the announcement of the news long awaited by all the Sang et Or people, the city of Lens is not yet beating to the rhythm of the L1, but the fans are already preparing for it.
"I was at work when we learned it so, the same day, we raised the flags", explains to AFP Gaëtan Guenard, showing the banners installed above the window of the company of signage in which he works.
The city of Lens is inseparable from the RCL and the entire mining area vibrates for the exploits of its flagship club, which have become rare for a decade. This rise is therefore all the more appreciated by the population, which is viscerally attached to its + Racing +.
"Here in Lens, with fervor, there is a strong societal constraint. In a basin which has suffered a lot and which is going to the stadium to find happiness, it is certain that the happiness of the supporters is much stronger in Ligue 1" , underlines to AFP Arnaud Pouille, the general director of the artesian club.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the containment imposed by the authorities, most of the shops in Lens are closed and the streets are almost deserted. But the supporters are already talking about that: the return of the Sang et Or in L1.
- "Loyalty rewarded" -
"We will find beautiful posters in Bollaert. We manage to be 30,000 in Ligue 2 but without wanting to disparage, this is not the top of the poster. Now we will have the derby against Lille, historic clubs like Marseille, Saint-Etienne, Nantes ", rejoices David Decoster, treasurer of the Lens United Federation, which brings together 29 associations and more than 2000 members.
"We have experienced a lot of disillusionment in recent years and I think it is the loyalty of the supporters that is rewarded, as well as the great work done by the club," added Mathieu Fourdrinier, the secretary of Lens United.
The two friends are happy but share the same mixed feeling: they would have preferred to see the season ended and to be able to celebrate the event with the players.
"There are two frustrations. Not to party because we couldn't even celebrate it with the players (...) The second frustration is all the criticism that we can hear like + it took that there is a global pandemic for Racing to come back up +. We did most of the season in the first two so I think it's deserved. But it would have been nice to do it after 38 days ", judge David Decoster.
Sportingly, serenity reigns within the club and the supporters, especially after a strong gesture from the president and majority shareholder Joseph Oughourlian, who erased the debts of RCL last month.
"He launched a capital increase to say + economically, I will keep the club standing + and that is very reassuring", points Arnaud Pouille, before warning: "The road ahead is not going to be easy. has work. "
- The fear of emptiness -
This return to the elite is also a delight for traders, hard hit by the consequences of the Covid-19.
"It is all the more brilliant knowing that the economic situation is already difficult and that we will have to rebound after this health crisis. But the question we are asking is: + Will we have the right to 'go to the stadiums? + ", explains Elise Turkowiak, manager of a restaurant, who hopes that the public will be able to fill Bollaert.
The prospect of having to watch their club play part of the season in an empty stadium is indeed of great concern to Lensois supporters.
"It is a given that there will be a closed session, the question is to know how long. No one today can announce it. We hope it will be as short as possible", breathes Mathieu Fourdrinier.
"Bollaert is really the 12th man and there is a good chance that we will not be able to go there before 2021, estimates David Decoster. I do not know if that will be penalizing, but that could play ..."
© 2020 AFP