Bordeaux manager, Willy Sagnol, apologises for "non-racist" racist comments

Willy Sagnol, the manager of Ligue 1 side FC Girondins de Bordeaux, has apologised for the way in which remarks he made recently appeared to some to be racist when he suggested  that African players are "powerful" but "lack technique, intelligence and discipline".

Willy Sagnol (screenshot BFM TV report)

"I apologise if my comments were misinterpreted and if I offended some people," he said at a press conference on Thursday.

"I was referring on a purely sporting level and not on either a political or social one."

The 37-year-old former French international was referring to comments he made while being interviewed by the regional daily Sud Ouest earlier this week - comments that angered some.

“The advantage of the typical African player is that he isn't expensive to recruit," he said.

"He’s generally ready to fight and is powerful on the pitch.," continued Sagnol.

"But football is not just about that. It's also about technical skills, intelligence and discipline.”

The proverbial "you know what" soon hit the fan.

Lilian Thuram, a former international team mate of Sagnol's from 2000-2008, and arguably one of the most articulate men in the game, said he was both "surprised" and "disappointed" by the Bordeaux manager's comments.

Lilian Thuram (screenshot Bourdin Direct, July 2014)

"There has always been a certain prejudice about players originating from Africa, and that has  always focused on strength over intelligence," said Thuram who, since he retired, has been active in the fight against both racism and discrimination.

"When you read or listen what Willy Sagnol said, you can see that it simply reinforces those preconceptions," he continued.

"That surprises me as he has never made such comments in the past. It is true, unfortunately, that we live in a country in which prejudice remain. And such comments simply strengthen that."


Thuram : "Sagnol renforce les préjugés" sur les... by Europe1fr

 It strengthens them. I am extremely surprised that he can keep that kind of talk . Because , whether the national team or club , he ( Willy Sagnol ) had to play with players of African or African origin and had found that there was intelligent players , disciplined and tactically very good .

Others were less gentle in their criticism with the French anti-racist French NGO SOS Racisme calling on the Fédération française de football (the French football federation, FFF) and the minister of sports to take action and labelling Sagnols comments as, "Laid-back racism".

And Pape Diouf, the former president of  Olympique de Marseille, called on all African players in Ligue 1 to boycott one day's play in the championship.

Not everyone was so incensed by Sagnol's comments - least of all the president of Bordeaux, Jean-Louis Triaud.

"We don't want to widen the scope of what was happened especially as we find it totally unjustifiable," said Triaud.

"I'm angry because anyone who knows Willy Sagnol knows he is anything but racist. The interpretation of his statement was totally wrong."

Meanwhile sports journalist Jean-Michel Larqué went a step further.

Jean-Michel Larqué (screenshot BFM TV report)

"I'm sure that Willy Sagnol was referring to the 'intelligence of the game'," he said.

"A couple of decades ago young African players were referred to as 'rough diamonds' because they had learned the game on the streets and had little knowledge on the tactical level: they didn't know 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 meant. Was that racism?"

"Let's just stop with all this polemic."

So there you have it. Sagnol's comments were clearly "laid back" or "non-racist" - depending on whose arguments you follow.

Or better still, they were accurate - as some of these Bordeaux supporters seemed to think, when questioned.

"Much ado about nothing," says the first man interviewed.

"What he says is simply the truth," says the second.

"There's a little bit of everything - African and European - in the side and there's no need to get into an argument about anything," says the third.



The bottom line?

Already expressing racist (and maybe now would be a good time for those naysayers to reach for their dictionaries to discover the definition of racism) thoughts in private is indefensible and against so much of what the so-called beautiful game has tried to combat over the past decades.

But to express them publicly  is both inexcusable, ignorant and downright stupid.

Jacques and Bernadette Chirac's political devide

It must be...er...interesting in the Chirac household at the moment.

The former French president, Jacques, and his wife, Bernadette, are apparently at odds over who to support in the primary to choose the candidate for the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) in the 2017 presidential elections.

Yep. It might seem a long way off, but hey ho, that hasn't stopped the political posturing.

Mind you, it's not exactly Jacques who's saying anything.

Rather it's the former first lady, Bernadette, who's taking potshots at one of the candidates already declared, Alain Juppé.

Bernadette Chirac (screenshot Europe 1 interview, January 2014)

Bernadette is a fervent supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy - both to head the UMP when the party chooses its leader in November and in the race to be its candidate for 2017, even though he hasn't officially declared his interest in running (although only a fool would vote against him doing so).

And the 81-year-old apparently has little or no time for Juppé - widely seen as Sarkozy's main challenger should he actually decide to seek the party's nomination.

"Juppé? What has Juppé got in common with Sarkozy?" she said when interviewed at the weekend.

"Alain Juppé is a very unwelcoming person. He doesn't win over people, friends and potential voters," she continued.

"You know, when important elections are approaching, you need someone with exceptional qualities. There are very few people around like that. I know, because my husband was president twice," she added.

Surely a clear indication that, as far as she's concerned, Juppé lacks the "exceptional qualities" which presumably Sarkozy has.

That might be Bernadette's assessment of Juppé's qualities - or lack thereof. But her husband apparently doesn't share her opinions.

Chirac didn't actually say as much himself.

Instead it was Juppé who revealed that the former president, under whom he served as prime minister from 1995-1997, was as loyal to him now as he had been in the past.

"Bernadette Chirac's remarks don't concern me at all," he said.

"The image of being seen as 'cold' is something that belongs to the past and there are stereotypes that always stay with you. Do you think the people of Bordeaux (the city of which he is mayor) consider me to be 'cold'?" he continued.

"I saw Jacques Chirac recently. We spent a great together and he confirmed his feeling that I was 'probably one of the best among us' (a reference to what Chirac had said of him back in the early 1990s)

And finishing with style and flourish, Juppé added, "You know, Jacques Chirac is loyal. He doesn't change his mind. And besides, I don't really want to get involved in matrimonial differences - whatever they might be."



As a timely aside, Juppé, who received an 18-month suspended sentence and a 10-year ban from running for political office (reduced to 14 months and one year respectively on appeal) in 2004 for abuse of public funds, was awarded the Press Club of France's prize for political humour 2014 on Monday for a comment which just about sums up French politics (and certainly Juppé's political career).

"In politics, it's never over. Look at me!"

Local elections in France - Sandrine Cocureau, a woman of extremes?

Most political pundits in France will tell you that the upcoming local elections could be marked by voter apathy.

And then there are also the stories circulating of just how difficult it is to get a list together in some places.

But the tale of Sandrine Cocureau bucks both those apparent trends because she appears to be someone desperate to be involved in local politics.

The only problem is, she doesn't seem to know what part of the political spectrum would best suit her.

The 43-year-old's name appeared on the list submitted by the far-right Front National (FN) in the town of Mérignac, a suburb of the city of Bordeaux.

Mairie de Mérignac (source - Wikipedia, author Erdrokan)

Cocureau's name appeared on the list submitted by the far-right Front National's candidate Jean-Luc Aupetit in the town of Mérignac, a suburb of the city of Bordeaux.

"She seemed to express ideas that were totally in keeping with the Front National's philosophy," said Aupetit about the first meeting with Cocureau at a market back in June 2013.

"We talked for a while and she agreed to figure provisionally on the list: a decision she confirmed in December."

All well and good. Except Cocureau didn't stop there.

Because at the same time as she was agreeing to be on the FN's list, she was also accepting to be on that of Guillaume Perchet, the candidate for the far-left Lutte ouvrière (LO)!

"She didn't come to us by chance," claimed Perchet. "She genuinely seemed to want to help the voice of the working class be heard."

Cocureau's rather weird "dual alliance" came to light when both lists were submitted for official scrutiny to the préfecture of the département of Gironde in mid-February.

And, not surprisingly, when it came to light that her name appeared on two lists, both parties withdrew her and quickly found replacements.

"There was no way we could keep her (on our list)," said Aupetit. "She was clearly trying to make a fool of us, perhaps in an attempt to have our candidacy invalidated."

"We decided by mutual agreement not to include her on either list," responded Perchet, suggesting that it might also have been a pre-election "trick" dreamed up by the FN.

Never mind Alain Juppé - you never stood a chance

Plenty of people thought he was the man for the job; Alain Juppé, one of the founders and the first president of the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) when it saw the light of day back in 2002 as the Union pour la majorité présidentielle (Union for the presidential majority) was the person could break the deadlock between Jean-François Copé and Francois Fillon.

(screenshot BFM TV)

Alas, "Super Juppé", the man who, so many political pundits, fellow party members and even opponents have praised and/or described as a real "Homme d'État" has failed to bind the union that, over the past week, has redefined the term French farce.

Maybe it's not surprising though, because Juppé's career hasn't really been so "Super" after all has it?

Yes, he has held high office; prime minister, defence minister, foreign minister - twice and ecology minister, and he has been mayor of Bordeaux for 15 of the past 17 years so - on the face of it - he definitely has the political credentials.

But he also has all the usual baggage which goes with political office in France.

He was prime minister under Jacques Chirac from 1995 to 1997, drafting into government a number of so-called "Juppettes" - the somewhat sexist and condescending term used to describe his appointing 12 women into ministerial positions - and overseeing a jolly old period when strikes became almost a national pastime in France.

Juppé also "did" the typical political French thing of being convicted in 2004 - for mishandling public funds and finding himself "suspended" from holding political office of any sort for 10 years.

As this is France though, Juppé bounced back (a little faster than expected) and after a "period of rehabilitative convalescence" in Canada, he was re-elected as mayor of Bordeaux in 2006.

Proving his full political credentials had been re-instated, Juppé was back in government - briefly - when Nicolas Sarkozy won the presidential election in 2007.

He was named number two behind the prime minister François Fillon, as minister of ecology, but had to stand down (again) after failing to be elected in the parliamentary elections which followed (Sarkozy had made it a requirement that any minister standing but losing would have to resign).

Towards the end of Sarkozy's reign, Juppé was back in government - this time replacing the disgraced Michèle Alliot-Marie as foreign minister and using all his statesmenship to play second fiddle to the French president as Sarkozy took over affairs in Libya and later in the year bringing about a speedy diplomatic resolution to affairs in Syria - not.

Yes there was no doubt that with such a political pedigree and success rate, Juppé was the obvious choice to mediate between Copé and Fillon.

Now that he has thrown in the towel the party's only hope is probably the very person whose counsel should have been sought in the first place...

Claude Guéant's unsurprising appeal to far right voters in French presidential election

It can hardly have been anything more than a coincidence of course.

Just a day after the leader of the far right Front National (FN), Marine Le Pen, announced that she only needed 48 more signatures to be guaranteed being able to stand in the first round of the presidential elections, up pipes interior minister Claude Guéant.

Claude Guéant (screenshot from France 3 report)

He can always be relied on to appeal to voters who might be considering switching allegiances from the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, Union for a Popular Movement,UMP) party of Nicolas Sarkozy for Le Pen's FN.

He has done it in the past during interviews in which he has said the French don't feel at home in their own country, or France doesn't need foreign bricklayers and the number of Moslems in this country causes problems.

And on Friday he took up a theme recently introduced by La Pen who claimed there was a cover-up over the quantity of halal meat being distributed in the Paris region without consumers being aware.

Guéant gave the subject his own special but equally xenophobic touch by linking it to one of the policies put forward by the Socialist party's candidate François Hollande - giving foreigners (ie non-EU citizens resident in France) the right to vote.

"Giving foreigners the vote is a way of opening the door to communalism (the idea of there being a stronger loyalty to an ethnic group rather than society as a whole)," he said during a speech in the eastern French city of Nancy.

"We don't want foreigners becoming elected local councillors and then making halal meat obligatory in workplace canteens or public swimming pools being segregated according to sex," he continued.

"Foreigners must accept our rules, it's up to them to adapt. Everyone knows if we have fewer immigrants, things will be better."

Yes, it was a government minister speaking!



Little wonder that in the past Le Pen has, not-so jokingly perhaps, offered him honorary membership of her party.

Guéant was of course laying out a policy direction clearly designed to appeal to Le Pen voters and just as importantly he was preparing the ground for extreme views to become more acceptably mainstream to members of his own party.

Because guess what?

On Saturday during a campaign rally in Bordeaux, some of those very themes were taken up as part of a speech given by Nicolas Sarkozy, especially the fear of the power (non EU) foreigners would wield if given the vote

And his words fairly echoed those of the interior minister.

"It would amount to an attack on the Republic by opening the door to communalism (there's that word again)," he said.

"And it would put mayors under the threat of blackmail of communalism."



Do you think the UMP campaign agenda is being defined by Le Pen?

Just a thought.

French newsreader's Borloo-Bordeaux mix-up

The leader of the liberal and centrist Parti radical (Radical party), Jean-Louis Borloo might have the reputation - deservéd or not - of enjoying a tipple or two.

Indeed his character in the satirical puppet show on Canal +, Les Guignols, is often portrayed as being on the rather jolly and incoherent side of tipsy as an even more dishevelled - if it were humanely possible - reincarnation of that scruffy TV detective Colombo.

Elise Lucet (screenshot from France 2 television)

So perhaps it was exactly that image that came to the fore in the mind of Elise Lucet as as the anchor on France 2's lunchtime edition of the news on Thursday gave a plug for a programme to be broadcast later in the day.

As she signed off, Lucet drew viewers' attention to the channel's political magazine A vu de juger, in which Borloo would be appearing in the evening and would perhaps she said, "Announce he was running for the country's 2012 presidential elections."

Except that wasn't quite what came out as you can see from the clip.

"Jean-Louis Bordeaux (as in the wine presumably) is what slipped out, quickly to be replaced by, "Borloo" and a smile.

Chimène Badi proves there's life after Popstars

French singer Chimène Badi is currently in the middle of a national tour.

And this week sees her returning to her roots so-to-speak with two dates lined up in the southwest of France - Toulouse and Bordeaux - not far from the town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot where the 28-year-old spent much of her childhood.

Chimène Badi (screenshot from Tellement Beau video)

Badi first rose to fame in the second edition of the French version of Popstars back in 2003.

The jury was looking to "create" a new band in what was then a popular format for "discovering" talent in many European countries.

Badi's "Rolls Royce of a voice" made an immediate impression with all three of the show's judges and although she made it through to the later stages of the competition there was, in the words of the chairman Valéry Zeitoun,"An enormous difference between the potential of her voice and her ability to dance (a requirement to be part of the band)."

Thankfully perhaps, because the quartet that went on to make up WhatFor (or perhaps more appropriately they should have been called Whatever for) managed just two minor hit singles and one album before disbanding and disappearing whence they came.


WhatFor - the group Badi was too good for


Not so Badi.

If Badi didn't correspond to what the jury was looking for to be part of the eventual group, she certainly caught the attention of Zeitoun, who just happened to be a producer and director at Universal Music.

"If you really want to sing, I'll help you," he told the then 20-year-old, and that's precisely what he did and later and later the same year Badi released her first album"Entre nous" and a single of the same name.

Since then Badi has become a regular on the French music scene able to tackle modern French standards and gain fans with her own brand of soulful singing.

Now, seven years later and with four studio albums and a clutch of hit singles under her belt, she's back on tour pulling them in and proving that she has one heck of a voice.



Even though she perhaps doesn't exactly set the audience alight with the same sort of onstage charisma as one of her contemporaries Amel Bent (who incidentally is also a product of reality TV - Nouvelle Star, and a singer who has also built her success on not winning the title) her voice is something to relish and there's a fragility in her onstage persona which belies the power of that voice.

A voice whose timbre is exquisite and one that allows her to caress a melody and boom a refrain with what appears to be consummate ease.

Badi's story is proof, if needed, that appearing in a reality show is no guarantee of success if the talent is lacking and, just importantly, losing isn't always a bad thing.

Her current tour continues until June 2011.

And her latest album, "Laisse-les dire" was released in May this year.

Nicoletta in Bordeaux, a concert review

Recognised by the late, great Ray Charles as being a "soul sister" when he first met her, the French performer Nicoletta was back on stage last week celebrating 40 years in show business.



Perhaps Nicoletta is not a name with which many of you will be familiar even if you're fans of French music.

But hers is a repertoire that includes some of the (now) standards of "la chanson française" such as "Il est mort le soleil", "Les volets clos" and "Flo Maravilla".

"Il est mort le soleil"

Then



Now



The 66-year-old is more than just a blast from the past or an almost forgotten memory of a bygone era as her show at the Casino Théâtre Barrière in the southwestern French city of Bordeaux illustrated on Friday.

Certainly she may not be riding high in the charts nor scheduling umpteen concert dates at home and abroad, but there again, she doesn't really need to either.

She has been there and done that so to speak, and built up a loyal fan base that has followed her across the decades.

As Nicoletta recounts the highs and lows of her career throughout the night's performance, she seems to have the 700-strong audience hanging on her every word, even to the extent of their joining in at times to remind her of names she has worked with, nodding in agreement and definitely wallowing in a degree of nostalgia.

She talks about her beginnings (as Nicole Grisoni) in the clubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris in the 1960s, and of her first encounter with the US singer-songwriter Mort Shuman.

The audience is reminded of her concert in China where she sang the since much-copied "Mamy Blue" in front of thousands.

There's a mention of music she brought back with her from Brazil and how, at one point, she lost several of her best musicians to another stalwart of the French music scene.

These aren't just mere stories though. They're part of a musical career, all wrapped around those hits of course which serve as more than a trip down memory lane.

With 40 years in the business and having worked with so many of the giants of French music, there's also a lot that she cannot pack in to one evening.

Nicoletta has always had a powerful and resonant voice that lends itself to an eclectic blend of jazz, soul, French standards and most importantly perhaps Gospel, which she has helped popularise in France.

Four decades later and she can still belt out all those tunes.

Her energetic performance towards the end of the show of "Mamy Blue", "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Oh Happy Day" with the backing of a local gospel choir are more than testament to that.

And had even those who might otherwise have been reticent about getting to their feet and joining in, do just that.

What Nicoletta represents, apart from being perhaps that overused term a "living legend", is a reminder to the new generation of "crooners" springing up on both sides of the Atlantic, that they still have a long, long way to go before they can match her talent and staying power.

Just as importantly, as Nicoletta touches on during the evening, those winners of television reality shows (one of her biggest hits "La Musique" was used as the theme music for the first season of just such a programme, Star Academy, in France) have an even further road to travel.

"La Musique" - the original



"La Musique" - a pale copy



You get the sense that everybody in the audience is nodding in wise agreement.

A French crematorium's last minute bill for an overweight coffin

Imagine how you would feel if, just before the cremation of your nearest and dearest, you were asked by the company carrying out the ceremony to pay an additional fee because the total weight of the casket and the deceased was heavier than you had initially told them.

That's exactly what happened last week in France to the family of Michel Fontalirand.

Image Wikipedia Creative Commons
Onderwijsgek ({{Afbeelding Onderwijsgek| |omschrijving=Urnenmuur op Begraafplaats Rijnhof te Woerden. |datum=01-07-2007 |auteur=Onderwijsgek }} {{cc-by-sa-2.5-nl}})

Moments before he was due to be cremated at the Montussan crematorium five kilometres from the southwestern city of Bordeaux, Fontalirand's family was asked to stump up a surcharge because the weight of the coffin and body combined was more than had been originally registered with the undertakers.

"When I arrived at the crematorium, I was told there was a slight problem," explained Chantal Correia who had been the family member charged with the responsibility of organising her brother-in-law's funeral arrangements.

"I was informed that Michel actually weighed 25 kgs more than the 120 kgs I had registered when he died, and that the crematorium would have to charge €830 rather than the €565 originally quoted for the cremation," she added.

The news certainly came as a surprise to Correia, who had wrongly assumed that her brother-in-law had lost weight during the final weeks of his life when he was in a coma.

Instead the former amateur rugby player and self-acclaimed bon vivant who, while alive, had ordinarily weighed in at a portly 125 kgs (275 lbs) for 1.70 metres (five feet six inches) had put on an extra 25 kgs.

A fact the undertakers should have picked up on, according to Georges Virgo, the director of the company that runs the Montussan crematorium.

"We specialise in cremating 'corpulent' people and it's the responsibility of the undertakers to ensure that they do their job properly and explain everything to the family," he said.

"Getting the weight right is an important cost factor in our business," he said.

"And last year our furnaces broke down twice because of mistakes made (in registering the weight)," he continued.

"Each time it happened it cost us €150,000," he added.

Crématorium de Montussan -Crématoriums Montussan 33450 Gironde - kewego


Now you might be thinking that his rather hard-nosed business response was hardly the most delicate way of dealing with the extra weight problem on the day, and while it might have been upsetting to Fontalirand's family, they didn't feel in a position to react in any other way than to pay the surcharge.

But as Correia admitted, her brother-in-law would probably have seen the funnier side of events at his cremation.

"He enjoyed his food and loved a joke or two," she said.

"He didn't want flowers or wreaths or any fuss made when he died, just a coffin, to be cremated and basta," she added.

"If he had imagined that we would end up paying a surcharge for his 'extra weight' he would probably have smiled and said, 'I should have gone on a diet before dying'."

Why numbers matter in France

What's in a number? Well quite a lot in France it appears if the latest figures released for car registration plates here are to be believed.

In order of popularity the French have plumped for the following numbers to be included on their car licence plates: 69, 59, 13, 31 and 33

For any of this to make sense there are a couple of things that probably need explaining.

First up France is divided into 100 départements (let's stick to the French spelling with that accent and extra "e" just for the sake of it) or if you like administrative districts.

While four of them are overseas, the other 96 are in what's called here "Metropolitan France" and they're all numbered more or less alphabetically (if that makes any sense) from Ain (01) to Yonne (89).

After that it gets a little confusing because Territoire de Belfort is 90 and 91-95 were created in the 1960s when the area around Paris was rejigged.

Anyway, since 1950 car registration plates have carried the number of the département in which the owner lives.

And over time it has become something of a badge of pride for many. If you lived in Paris - then your car had 75 at the end of its licence plate. Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) - 06, Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) - 13, Lyon (Rhône) - 69 and so on and so forth. For a full list (should you be interested) click here.

But that system changed this year - the fear being that there simply wouldn't be enough numbers to go around.

New cars now carry a registration composed of two letters - three numbers - two letters, something along the lines of AA-123-AA.

A space is also made available for a département number to be displayed. It isn't actually part of the car's registration, instead it's left up to the owner to choose which number appears.

But the choice has to be a judicious one as it's for life (of the owner). In other words drivers keep the licence plate even if they change vehicles or move départements.

Initially introduced just for new cars, the system is now being extended to second-hand cars as of October 15.

So back to those figures and the apparent popularity of certain départements over others.

Well since April 15 there have been two million new vehicles registered and at the moment according to government statistics the number of choice for those not actually living in the département which under the old system would have appeared on the plate is 69 or Rhône, of which the major city is Lyon.

That's followed by 59 (Nord, major city Lille), 13 (Bouches-du-Rhône, Marseille), 31 (Haute-Garonne, Toulouse) and 33 (Gironde, Bordeaux).

Meanwhile heading the list in which purchasers of new cars have so far preferred to opt for numbers outside of the département in which they live are 92, Hauts-de-Seine and 75, Paris.

Of course that could all change once second-hand cars start carrying the new plates.

But for the moment the figures seem to suggest that the affinity the French have with a region perhaps from which they originate is still pretty strong and the simple pleasure and apparent symbolism of being identified (or wishing to be so) with a part of the country other than the one in which they might live, still matters.