French media and ordinary citizens have condemned the 'appalling behaviour and lax performance' of "Les Bleus" at the World Cup in South Africa.
A scandal ripping through the World Cup worsened on Monday when the French coach said some of his rebellious players may not want to play their final group game against hosts South Africa on Tuesday.
Their boycotting of training on Sunday after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting coach Raymond Domenech had already horrified the French government and people.
The players were pilloried as overpaid brats.
"To have the worst soccer team at the World Cup was already unbearable. To also have the most stupid is intolerable," commented the daily newspaper Le Parisien.
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"The mutiny at Knysna will forever remain the Waterloo of French soccer."
President Nicolas Sarkozy asked his sports minister to visit Les Bleus' camp in Knysna as France coach Raymond Domenech has described the strike as "unspeakably stupid".
Sponsors start to shun team
Sponsors are starting to distance themselves from France's scandal-hit football team.
Credit Agricole said on Monday it had cancelled its television campaign with the team, which on Sunday boycotted a training session in support of striker Nicolas Anelka who was sent home for foul-mouthing the national coach.
"We are suspending our advertising campaign on insurance products that features the French team," a spokeswoman for the French bank said.
The campaign was initially slated to end on June 25. Meanwhile, fast-food company Quick decided over the weekend to stop using an advertising film featuring Anelka and Procter and Gamble said it was dropping a television campaign for its Pringles crisp brand that featured the expelled player.
Jean-Louis Valentin, France's national team director, resigned following the public squabble.
'Lack of leadership'
Almost all French critics blasted the lack of leadership from the coach and team management, while some speculated about factions on the team between blacks and whites, Muslims and non-Muslim, the Montreal Gazette reports.
Many accused the players, many from France's poorest ethnic communities, of not having pride in their country, noting that some chew gum during the playing of the national anthem.
The left-wing newspaper Liberation, which would normally consider it unthinkable to not take the side of an anti-authority strike, hurled an egregious insult for French socialists by comparing the multimillionaire players to bond traders.
"We take them to be role models for kids who have lost their way in life, but in reality they are just bling-bling traders for a sport which yesterday lost a lot of credit in France."
France's image 'damaged'
France's sports minister Roselyne Bachelot held a meeting with the players on Monday and told them they had damaged France's image.
"I told the players that for our children they are probably no longer heroes," Bachelot said.
"You have crushed the dreams of your partners, your friends and your supporters. You have tarnished the image of France."
