World Cup: From Doha to Paris, the triumphant return of the Blues

The bus stops at 21:15 in front of Crillon. Players always drag their suitcases before inviting themselves to a hotel. Fans feel it, mobile phones are already turned off, and silhouettes of football players appear in the windows. Didier Deschamps, if he is going to show himself, at the microphone LCI seems exhausted. “It is our duty, together with the players, to thank these French men and women who supported us, who gave a lot of strength to this French team,” the coach explained. The last note is cruel, but we must not forget what we have done. »

According to the prefecture, he appears first with Hugo Lloris on a hotel balcony in front of 50,000 people. If the entire work force joins the duo, Le Graet remains invisible. The public waved their tricolor flags, the blue flags waved their arms for fear of tendonitis. Smiles, but above all surprise, will not be long in coming on the faces in relation to this human tide. “We don’t see the fans directly, the closer we get, the more we open up, and it’s amazing, it’s great and it warms the heart,” confirms Markus Thuram. “Kilian, Kilian”, come up from the audience below. The striker clearly wins on the applause meter before the crowd generates more applause, which excites the Blues.

“It’s nice to see so many people this evening (Monday),” smiles Lloris at LCI. The most important thing is the recognition of these supporters. This comforts us a little, even if we, the athletes, would like to win this gold medal. “About twenty minutes after their appearance, the Blues left. Packed with communion, Olivier Giroud is already wary of being separated from his teammates. “It always hurts my heart to part with the guys with whom we spent a month and a half, we are like a family, like brothers. “The best scorer in the history of the Blues is clearly in no hurry to part with his partners. However, the last 24 hours have been eventful, marked by heavy emotions.

The day before, Lloris had walked slowly through the door of the Al Massila Hotel. Surrounded by Deschamps, the French goalkeeper leads the tricolor procession, whose gait reflects all the accumulated fatigue. The applause of the base camp staff, complemented by the applause of the families, is more measured than since the start of the competition, but causes shy smiles on the faces of the defeated Blues.

Emmanuel Macron’s performance in the dressing room changed nothing, a penalty loss to Argentina robbed the French of hope, leaving only a cruel sense of fatality. Luckily the kids are here to brighten up the evening. The two daughters of Lloris embrace their father as soon as he arrives at the hotel. Alphonse Areola, he carries one of his daughters in his arms in the middle of a line of suitcases.

The spirits were clearly not at the party, especially since the ridicule of the Argentine winners must have reached their ears. Like the atmosphere in the hallways of the hotel, 24 Blues’ social media remained fairly quiet. Fake supporters were more talkative. Some players, such as Kingsley Coman, have been subjected to racist abuse. Eduardo Camavinga was insulted by former Argentine star Sergio Aguero, tipsy on Instagram.

The night must have passed in slow motion for most of the vice-champions of the world, and the next day the pace did not pick up. The Blues left their base camp around noon local time. During this time, the Ministry of Sports, the FFF and Noel Le Grae were involved in the game of ping pong through the media interfering with the Tricolores program.

On Sunday, the passage through the Place de la Concorde was mentioned. At the France Inter microphone, Amélie Oudéa-Castera reaffirmed the Blues’ desire to “go and thank their supporters” at Concorde. The president of 3F quickly denied this on BFM TV. According to him, the players are “hurrying home” and not “in the mood to walk along the Champs-Elysées or somewhere else.” The French Federation will finally give a reason to the sports minister. Deschamps tip the scales and put an end to hesitation.

Return flight in a cozy atmosphere

The meeting with the French is scheduled for 20:30 at the Hôtel de Crillon, but the French team is delayed at the airport. Scheduled for 13:30 Doha time, the Air France plane took off just two hours later. Departure time of aircraft is complicated by heavy air traffic.

There were six hours left in the clouds. Ibrahima Konate grabs his phone. “All big successes have been preceded by some big defeats,” the imposing Liverpool defender tweeted. In this way, he emulates Kylian Mbappe, the author of the historic hat-trick in the final and the message of hope in his networks: “We will be back,” the tournament’s top scorer promised.

In the girl’s headphones, Areolas are busy with pencils and notepads. One of them will offer a photo with Mbappe, as shown in the mother’s story. Apparently, the speaker went dead after spitting out “Freed From Desire” throughout the tricolor epic. This cozy atmosphere echoes the departure on Saturday, when most families ditched Air France champagne, preferring not to get carried away until the finale. The turbulences are not sonic, but rather digital. Karim Benzema, plump and enigmatic online during competition, announces his international retirement on his 35th birthday while flying.

The plane landed at Roissy airport shortly before 8 pm. Still behind Captain Lloris, the Blues jump onto the pavement and climb right into the bus. The last one starts after 40 minutes in the direction of the Hôtel de Crillon. The crowd has already gathered. Belonging clap impatience and Gala already sound. “Push the mushroom,” fans shout to the bus driver from afar. Ironic, since the speed of the parade on the Champs Elysées had disappointed the public four years earlier.

The atmosphere is good-natured, some sit down at traffic lights or lanterns, others endure a little more. “We won’t see anything and it’s all because of this,” exhales 21-year-old Robin, who arrived at 4:30 p.m. with his father but away from Crillon due to the crowds. Adam, who had come from Montpellier for the occasion, decided to take a step back so as not to be forced. “We can see much better from here,” he promises. That’s good, it’s almost 21:40, and shadows are appearing on the windows of the Crillon.