Macron returns to Qatar for love of sport, despite criticism

Paris, The Gulf Observer: French President Emmanuel Macron is about to jet off to Qatar for the second time in a week, despite broad concerns about the emirate’s human rights and environmental record. Why? Because France is in the World Cup final, and Macron really is a big soccer fan — as well as a prominent advocate of the longstanding partnership between the two countries.

A video broadcast after France’s victory over Morocco in the semifinal showed an enthusiastic Macron mingling with French players in the dressing room on Wednesday evening at the Doha stadium, applauding to the sound of the “Freed from desire” music hit that has become the team’s victory hymn.

The World Cup in Qatar has sparked multiple controversies — from the living conditions of migrant workers to the impact on the environment of air-conditioned stadiums and the place of LGBTQ people, as well as women and minorities. Many activists, especially in Europe, had urged a boycott of the tournament.

Some on social media also noted that the six-hour flight from Paris to Doha is energy-consuming and not climate-friendly — in apparent contradiction with Macron’s previous commitments.

At a European summit in Brussels on Thursday, Macron said he fully stands by his decision. “I’m backing the France team and I think that the French are too,” he said.

He referred to the more than 20 million viewers who watched the semifinal on French TF1 television, a record high for a World Cup game since 2006. “Figures are there. We love our national team, we are proud of it, we want it to win,” Macron said.

A 44-year-old sport lover, Macron played soccer with the team of France’s elite administration school, the ENA, in the 2000s. He is a supporter of the club of Marseille, in southern France, and played last year in a charity soccer match — a first for a French president in office — during which he scored from a penalty kick.

Macron was also seen boxing during a campaign event in the northern suburbs of Paris in April this year, just before being reelected for a second term — a sport he is said to practice with some of the officers in charge of his security.

The French president had announced in advance that he would attend the semifinal and final if France qualified — just like he did during the previous World Cup won by the French in Russia in 2018.

Some French leftist politicians have also criticized Macron’s trips to the emirate.

A Green European Parliament lawmaker, Yannick Jadot, said this week that going to Qatar is a “political mistake” especially in the context of the corruption scandal that led the European Union’s parliament to suspend work on all files involving Qatar.