It's probably more than a football game that will be played Monday night tonight at the Stade de France. France welcomes Turkey at 20:45. In case of victory, the Blues would already be qualified for Euro 2020. But there is also the diplomatic context, with the Turkish bombing in Syria condemned by France. Turkish fans will be very numerous tonight, probably tens of thousands. It is therefore a tense evening in perspective. Especially in the first leg the Turks had outclassed the French (2-0) in a very hostile atmosphere.
In the entourage of the Blues and up to the top of the state, nobody, moreover, has forgotten the whistles that accompanied the Marseillaise four months ago in Turkey. The context was already tense at the time. It is obviously more so today. Turkish coach Senol Günesh supports the intervention in Syria but calls for calm. "We encourage our soldiers," slipped the Turkish coach in a press conference. "But I'm against any kind of violence, and I want to address all the fans, if they come, it's for fun, they can applaud France, football is peace and fraternity. . "
The Marseillaise again whistled?
Extremely rare for the Blues, this match is classified as high risk. More than 600 members of the police force and 1,400 stewards will be mobilized. The Turks will be supported by a diaspora estimated between 20 and 40,000 people scattered in the stands. And this is a real concern. "There are many people buying their ticket online and the risk is the mixture of French and Turkish supporters in the stadium," says Kayan Kaladja, correspondent of the Turkish channel NTV.
In case of incident, a Turkish speaker will be at the edge of the lawn. And if, as is likely despite calls for calm Ankara authorities, the Marseillaise was to be whistled again, the sound of the stadium of France spit decibels. Funny evening in perspective.