Given the importance that sport has taken in our lives, it is quite normal for politicians to get involved. Between meetings with the players, social dinners or even handshakes, we have already had a lot of awkward moments between sportsmen and politicians, here is a small summary of the last ones that made us smile the most.
1. Zemmour falls out with Zidane’s brother
Suffice to say that the meeting between Z and Zidane’s brother was rather funny. While our good old Zemmour wanted to stretch his legs and kick a little football in Marseille, he thought he was going to go to the room run by the Zidane brothers, the class. Except that, bad luck, the Zidane brothers do not seem to share Zemmour’s opinions too much, and when the latter is about to enter the field, he is rejected by Nourredine Zidane, Zidane’s brother in person. Nourredine’s reasons are simple, he was not aware of Zemmour’s arrival and he simply does not want the image of his room to be associated with a fascist, which makes sense after all.
2. The Fijian players who kneel before Macron in the TOP 14 final in 2017
Of course, it’s not something unusual or unusual in Fijian culture, but, for us French people, it feels weird. When we know that Macron has already taken a little slap in the face when he was traveling in the Drome, or that others are outright hoping for his “DECAPITATIOON”, it makes us very funny to see rugby players 2m taller than kneel down instead of just shaking hands.
3. Chirac pretending to shout the names of the players before the final against Brazil
It is a cult scene and a great moment of our late former President Chirac. During the final of the blues in 98 against Brazil, we see very clearly Chirac struggling with the names of the French team. Suddenly, Chirac simply decided to pretend to shout the names, telling himself that it would pass and that it wouldn’t be at all embarrassing, except that no it didn’t, and yes it was embarrassing… and yes TV already existed at that time and everything was filmed for posterity.
4. Macron’s little joke to N’Golo Kanté…
And there, it’s Macron who puts himself in the sauce to try not too too funny jokes which annoy everyone a little. In June 2021, as the France team continued to prepare for the Euros, Macron dropped by to say hello to the players in their training center. And if the handshakes were rather basic until then, Macron decides to stop in front of Kanté to talk to him (already a little embarrassing when you know Kanté is quite shy and not very talkative), who drops a little daron valve on him “ so Kanté, still three lungs? “.
Well it was certainly a little embarrassing, but it started from a good attention so for once we are going to hold it against little Manu.
5. …but also his slightly too warm welcome to Karim Benzema
Same for Benzema, the exchange was a little awkward. Macron took too much affection for the Real player, and stayed a little too long with him, telling him with a solemn air “it makes me very happy to see you again”, it is cute and we’re not going to blame him for that (well if a little all the same otherwise it’s not funny), but it bothered us a little bit.
6. Trump, facing the women’s soccer team (and especially Megan Rapinoe)
Well already we see the name “Trump”, we are embarrassed, no need to go much further. Many athletes refused to shake hands with the American president when he was in power, and each time it gave quite unusual scenes for the public. But what the American player did remains emblematic, she refused during all the matches of the Women’s World Cup to sing the American anthem, and she put one knee on the ground, a sign of protest because of the police violence suffered by black people. When the players were crowned champions, they were all received by Trump to congratulate them, but Megan Rapinoe did not want to go to the White House, so there was never a meeting, and Trump didn’t take it very well.
7. When Michael Jordan snubbed Bush for a round of golf
In 1991 when Jordan and his team were invited to the White House to celebrate the NBA title, Michael Jordan had not gone to the appointment with the presidents for the simple reason that he was making a game of golf with a dealer, nothing too shocking in the end. MJ had claimed that a family event had prevented him from going to the date, except that Bush was not so stupid, and he quickly learned that the American star simply had better things to do, like a part of golf. A bit embarrassing.
8. Macron calls Kyky to stay in Paris
Another unusual meeting: when the president advises Mbappé to stay at PSG, it gives a pretty good exchange. We still have Manu Macron president (it’s nothing) who explains to Kyky why he absolutely has to stay at PSG (while Macron is supposed to support OM), in short we feel that Mbappé is someone important, maybe -be even more than the president himself, ouch.
9. Holland making a joke about Loris’ blunder in the 2018 World Cup final
We knew that Hollande was funny, but there to let go of such a punchline, we say to ourselves that the guy clearly missed a career in stand-up.
” Its very important. Have you seen that Lloris is a generous man? He is even able to give the opponent a goal, only when he knows that it has no more consequences. He stopped so many shots that could have been decisive… I thought it was a gesture – I wouldn’t want to compromise it – but almost a socialist gesture”, is what Hollande told Lloris after the victory of the bruises against Croatia, a pinching and unusual remark as we like them.
10. And the little bonus: Giscard is the first president to appear while playing sports
Giscard is the first French president, long before Holland and company, to appear playing sports, and to support athletes. We see him in ski clothes, in a football shirt, or even riding a bike. Remember that Giscard still did bare-chested interviews in the greatest calm, and in 1975, a year after his election, around sixty journalists were present at the bottom of the slopes to see him hurtle down Courchevel at full speed. The only downside is that Giscard’s favorite “sport”, the one he really liked to practice, is hunting, and that’s where the embarrassment comes in…