Are French cities spearheading the movement to boycott the World Cup in Qatar?
A month and a half before the kick-off of the most important football competition in the world (November 20 – December 18), the list of municipalities refusing to set up fan-zones and giant screen broadcasts continues to grow. lengthen.
While many argue a political boycott, other municipalities speak of primarily economic decisions.
Since the awarding of the organization to Qatar in 2010, the holding of the competition in the Gulf State has been the subject of much criticism, fueled by the ecological impact of the event and the numerous human rights violations during the construction of stadiums.
Officially, three deaths have been recorded, but the International Labor Organization (ILO) has reported 50 dead workers - mostly immigrants - in work accidents in the emirate in 2020. Its report counts 500 seriously injured , a toll which, according to the ILO, could be heavier, due to shortcomings in the accident recording system.
The Guardian puts it at 6,500 victims.
Read also: Mondial-2022 in Qatar: "The players will play on cemeteries"
Strasbourg, Rodez then Lille launched the movement
The boycott movement started timidly in France.
On September 26, the mayor of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian (left) almost paid lip service to indicating that she had not "planned public screenings" for the event, before arguing for this decision in a interview on local television: “It is impossible for us not to hear the many alerts from NGOs denouncing the abuse and exploitation of immigrant workers”.
The mayor of Rodez, Christian Teyssèdre (close to LREM), followed suit four days later.
However, it was a tweet from Martine Aubry on October 1 that really launched the French movement.
"We will not broadcast any match on a giant screen", denouncing a "nonsense with regard to human rights, the environment and sport", then announces the PS mayor of Lille.
Unanimously, the Municipal Council of #Lille voted this evening a declaration disapproving of the holding of the Football World Cup in Qatar, which is nonsense with regard to human rights, the environment and sport.
We will not broadcast any matches on a giant screen.
— Martine Aubry (@MartineAubry) September 30, 2022
Since then, several mayors of large cities, all political colors combined – Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Reims, Nancy, Saint-Étienne, Rodez or Toulouse – have announced, for similar reasons, to give up the festivities of this World Cup, whatever the performance of the Blues.
“It is not possible with such conditions – 6,500 dead, people working in semi-slavery, air-conditioned stadiums, permanent rotations of planes […] it is not possible to consider this event as not any other event", explains Jean-François Debat, mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse (PS), already co-author in 2019 of a forum in the World "France must not go to Qatar".
"The main argument raised by the majority of town halls is that Qatar is a country that does not respect human rights and whose constructions for the World Cup have generated deaths. We also say to ourselves that ecologically, it's a problem", notes Louis-Marie Valin, member of the Sport Business Observatory.
“However, these political and economic criteria are less admissible than the economic argument in my opinion. We have known for a long time that the World Cup will take place there and we only decide at the last moment by surfing on a buzz. "
"If the problem is Qatar, let's stop talking to them for the rest of the year," says the expert in the football ecosystem.
Paris balancing act
An example illustrates well the dichotomy between the discourse on football and the other links with Qatar: that of the city of Paris, which also encouraged the boycott of the event: "For us, there was no question of set up match broadcast areas for several reasons: the first is the conditions for organizing this World Cup, both in terms of the environment and the social aspect; the second is the temporality, the fact that it takes place in December", announced to AFP the deputy in charge of Sport, Pierre Rabadan, for whom "this model of major events goes against what [Paris] wishes to organize".
However, this will to boycott is based on a perilous balancing act.
Indeed, the capital's main club, PSG, has been flying the Qatari flag since 2011. While the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, is regularly present in "the basket", the VIP stand of PSG, his ecologist deputy, David Belliard, " regrets" and now denounces the fact that the club has the Gulf gas state as its main shareholder.
"We can no longer continue to work with states that go against the policies we are pursuing," he said.
Converts of the last hour at the town hall of Paris?
It seems hypocritical to clap now on the hand that has fed the French capital so much.
Indeed, France is the second country in which Qatar invests the most in Europe, behind the United Kingdom.
And Paris is at the center of these investments: the respective economic development and innovation agencies of Paris and Qatar have forged a partnership that Anne Hidalgo said in 2016, "proud to sponsor", while the rich State of Golfe finances the Printemps stores, the Royal Monceau hotel and the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile.
“Politicians today have multiple relationships with Qatar. The French economy is supported by Qatar, there are exchanges, particularly cultural and commercial, between the two States. It is ironic to think that this economic part, we keep it, but that there is a real problem with football. It is to give football an important and unfair part", notes Louis-Marie Valin.
"Football spectators will be the first to be penalized by this movement. Politicians and industrialists are not affected by this boycott of cities. On the other hand, the grassroots supporter will not be able to experience the Cup with his friends if he wants to. ."
"Demagogy"?
"It should also be emphasized that this boycott is not actually intended for Qatar. We are trying to make people believe that we are sending a message to the Qataris when the recipient of the message is internal. There is a real hypocrisy around that. “, decrypts Louis-Marie Valin.
Nice, Cannes and Perpignan keep the door open to a change of mind depending on the results of the French team.
In Dijon, Mayor François Rebsamen goes further and outright denounces hypocrisy on the part of his fellow mayors: 'It was when choosing the organizing country that the strongest protests had to be made'", he comments.
The city councilor points the finger at "demagoguery" which "appears" a few weeks before the start of the World Cup.
"Curiously, no voice was raised in 2018, during the World Cup in Russia, even though Putin's army had annexed Crimea."
The cost of fan-zones, a strong argument?
In Angers, it is not the political argument that is put forward, but rather that of energy sobriety in view of a winter that promises to be difficult.
"We will not have any installation of broadcast screens in public space for the matches of the next Football World Cup. In the current context, everyone must participate in the national sobriety effort", writes Charles Diers , the city's sports assistant.
In the hometown of Christophe Béchu, current Minister for Ecological Transition, the decision has the merit of being in line with the sobriety plan presented Thursday, October 6 by Elisabeth Borne.
Read also: What the French government's energy sobriety plan contains
On the side of Poitiers and Angoulême, we play cards on the table.
Charles Reverchon-Billot, deputy mayor of Poitiers in charge of public spaces, affirms that the decision was taken a year ago at the time of budgetary arbitration.
Not broadcasting the three matches of the France team should allow the municipality to save 70,000 euros, he says in an interview with La Nouvelle République.
"It seemed incongruous to us to take the risk of this type of expense when we are currently trying to save money to absorb the rising cost of energy", also explains to France Bleu Xavier Bonnefont, the mayor of 'Angouleme.
In Millau, the city took this decision to promote economic benefits for cafeterias and bar owners.
"At a time when the French are being asked to make an effort, when the town halls do not necessarily have the means, the economic argument is audible. Especially since the World Cup takes place in winter, a period when the spectators will undoubtedly be less inclined to go out for the matches", notes Louis-Marie Valin.
"The problem is that many town halls do not take on the economic argument and hide behind a so-called political message."
Still, in the events sector, these cascading decision-making worries service providers, as L'Équipe points out: "We had a lot fewer requests this year because of the season, but no cancellations", observes Bastien Bernard, digital marketing manager of PLF Events.
"In the fall, we weren't expecting a lot of activity, but here we find ourselves trapped. The municipalities will be afraid of hurting themselves if they broadcast the matches and it will snowball", worries Laurent Chantoin, director of the Plug & Play company, in Seine-et-Marne.
In Europe, similar decisions
Beyond the French debate, fan-zones are also less popular in Europe.
Thus, in Berlin, supporters will be deprived of the famous "fan mile", the fan-zone of the Brandenburg Gate, a veritable institution since the 2006 World Cup, organized in Germany.
The organizing company argues that it is impossible to organize the event due to the concomitance of the Christmas markets and the "uncertainties" linked to Covid-19.
Despite the overflowing ambitions of Belgium, no municipality in the Brussels conurbation will broadcast the matches of the competition, notes La Libre Belgique.
Several mayors highlight the low number of supporters expected given the temperatures, while evoking the energy and climate crisis as well as the non-respect of human rights in Qatar.
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