How after Germany's defeat in 1918?

The most important French sports newspaper L'Equipe, the belly and stomach of the football-loving President Macron, disturbed the audience with an ambiguous headline on Wednesday.

"Comme en 18" ("As in the year 18") was the headline of the newspaper after the defeat of the German national team against the Bleus.

This could be interpreted as a reference to the 2018 World Cup, when Germany was eliminated in the preliminary round and France won the title.

But most French understood the headline as an allusion to the First World War, which is still called the "Great War" in French parlance.

Michaela Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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    “Can't sport be something other than continuing the war by other means,” said the indignant television presenter Samuel Etienne. “Is the reference to the war from 1914 to 1918 with its millions of dead really necessary after a match between France and Germany?” He asked. The debate boomed on social networks and news channels. “In football, the language has always been belligerent. But the headline really goes too far, ”said geopolitical scientist Carole Gomez from think tank IRIS. It can even be assumed that a parallel should be drawn between the own goal and the stab in the back legend. The newspaper “Le Parisien” also struck a patriotic note. She turned the famous Gary Linekers saying around and headlined: "And in the end, France wins."

    In any case, it was noticeable how France breathed a sigh of relief after winning the points at the start of the European Championship. During the long pandemic months in spring 2020, the press had repeatedly drawn comparisons with Germany in order to convince the French of their country's decline. The impression of being left behind by the mighty neighbor on the other side of the Rhine shapes one's self-image. The right-wing populist Marine Le Pen gives the impression that Germany wants to subjugate France peacefully. “French awake” (“Francais réveillez-vous”) was their slogan at a rally in Fréjus on the Côte d'Azur. Many saw this as a reference to the slogan “Germany awake!” From the 1930s.