The origins of the song “On les a chicotés”, trademark of RC Lens

• The players of Racing Club de Lens have become accustomed to celebrating their victory with the song "we have them quibbled", sung by Franck Haise after his team's victory against PSG (3-1) on January 1st.

• This song seems to have appeared in the locker room of French football in 2017, by Ibrahima Konaté, player of Sochaux at the time.

• It originated from Democratic Republic of Congo singer Felix Mazekwa and his song Fimbu na Fimbu, meaning to quibble, or whip, after the country won the 2016 African Nations Championship.

Will the Lensois "chickle" AJ Auxerre this Saturday (5 p.m.) on behalf of the 19th day of Ligue 1, and once again offer their supporters the opportunity to sing the now famous song "Olélé olala, but what happened?

We chomped on them”?

A refrain sung by Franck Haise two weeks ago after the victory against PSG (3-1), the opportunity also to celebrate his 100th at the head of RC Lens.

At

, we wanted to understand where this anthem could come from, so we put our investigation unit on the file.

And to tell you the truth, we didn't think it would take us to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Lens, it serves as a gathering song from the Ligue 2 era, and the arrival of the Corsicans Jean-Louis Leca and Yannick Cahuzac respectively in 2018 and 2019. “One evening of victory in Ligue 2, we sang several things .

We put the young people forward but they were a little shy.

So Cahu [Yannick Cahuzac] started to sing it saying "all after me!".

And it came back.

Then Yannick, who was captain, threw it after each victory, ”says Jean Louis Leca, the now substitute goalkeeper of RC Lens.

"We choked them", which Jean-Louis Leca translates as "we beat them" gradually settled in the Lensois locker room, before being taken over by the public at the Bollaert stadium and becoming one of the emblems of the club.

Congolese origin

This song was also immediately recalled to the good memories of our colleague from Lyon, Jérémy, who had heard it during the epic of Lyon La Duchère in the Coupe de France, in 2019. At the time, Cédric Tuta was the chef cloakroom orchestra: "At the Duchère, I was the initiator of the songs.

And I liked to make creations, bring my personal touch.

When we won 3-0 against Nîmes in the Coupe de France, I launched this song: “Olélé Olala, but what happened?

We ticked them off."

It was a personal inspiration, I hadn't heard it anywhere, even if I don't claim to be at the origin of it either.

On the other hand, I know that the video buzzed a lot after our victory, and I started to hear this song in different teams, especially in Ligue 2 ”, confides the ambiancer to us.

By immersing yourself in the meanders of the internet, we find the now famous "we have them chicotés" taken up by the locker room of AS Nancy Lorraine in 2019. But surprise, the song also appears on a video of the Sochaux locker room, dated 2017. We see the now French international, Ibrahima Konaté, 16 years old at the time, launching this cry, echoed by the entire locker room.

Information taken, Cédric Tuta does not know Ibrahima Konaté, nor any other player in the Sochaux workforce at that time.

“But it's on the same rhythm as us, and they say the same words?

he wonders.

Absolutely.

Former Lyon striker La Duchère leads us on another track, a little further than that of Franche-Comté:

“The term 'chicote' is special for me, who come from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We are renowned for being the musicians of Africa, and we find "chicote" in Felix Wazekwa's song,

, which he made for Congo's victory in the 2016 African Nations Championship. Fimbu means the chicote, which is the whip, and since then players also make the gesture of the whip as a celebration after a goal.

When we won, it's as if we whipped the opponent and if we lost, it turned against us, ”says Cédric Tuta.

“He encourages every team to play well”

Since this victory at CHAN, the players of the national team of the DRC have become accustomed to celebrating their goals and their victories on the dance of Fimbu na Fimbu, created by Felix Mazekwa.

In an interview given to

in 2017, he explains that this dance originally goes beyond the framework of football: "Those who commit offenses deserve a chicotte".

Before being finally picked up by the Congolese players, who “quickly understood that the dance steps were reminiscent of a correction that would be inflicted on someone who had committed a sprain.

We now fiddle with a defense that concedes goals during a match.

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While refusing the belligerent side of the thing: “Fimbu is playful.

It has nothing to do with gestures that hurt opponents and create tension in a match.

He encourages each team to play well to win the match in order to be the one who will “chicotter” the other”, pleads the singer.

A brand and a clothing line

From that date, dancing and singing gradually infused the world of football, especially in France, helped by singers of Congolese origin like Gradur.

Hence his appearance in the French locker room, as in Sochaux in 2017. Ibrahima Konaté is certainly not of Congolese origin, but Malian.

Nation justly beaten in the final of CHAN 2016 by Congo, well, well!

The term has now gone beyond the framework of sporting rivalry to the point of becoming a brand and even a line of clothing for Lensois supporters, created in partnership between Yannick Cahuzac and Jean-Louis Leca, with friends from the company M Concept, a textile company based in Arras.

“They wanted to create something about us, about the revival of RC Lens.

As the song was already well taken up and was sung at the stadium, we created the "Chicoté" brand and we dropped it, ”says the goalkeeper.

Since then, he and Yannick Cahuzac have been its representatives, and part of the profits are donated to Foot en cœur, an association in Pas-de-Calais which works to bring children in difficulty to football, and to "J' love my sea”, an association for the protection of the Mediterranean.

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