Emmanuel Macron spent Monday morning in the presence of the French rugby team and for once he spoke without ambiguity. ‘You are the best prepared team in the world,’ he told them at their training camp south of Paris. ‘You’ll be brothers in arms, fighting from the first minute to the last. The team is bigger than you, just as the nation is bigger than any one of us. Make us proud, make us happy.’
France are indeed the bookmakers’ favourites for the Rugby World Cup, the tournament they are hosting for the first time since 2007. On that occasion, they were similarly confident going into the competition, only to be beaten in the semi-final by Jonny Wilkinson’s England.
The French left, or at least LFI, will defend republican principles when it suits them
Unfortunately France’s preparations for the tournament, which kicks off on Friday evening when they take on New Zealand in Paris, have been overshadowed by a racism row. At
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