French soccer fans queue for shirt carrying second star

PARIS (Reuters) - Scores of French soccer fans queued on Friday to snap up the first of the national team's new shirts carrying a second star to mark Les Bleus' World Cup win in Russia.





The crowning of France as world champions unleashed a wave of euphoria across the country, helping foster a brief sense of national unity after years of tension and self-examination in the wake of attacks by Islamist militants since 2015.

"I'll keep it all my life. It's the second star! They made our dreams come true on the pitch," said fan Brice Chevalier as he queued to enter the French Football Federation's store in Paris.

France first won the World Cup, earning its first star, in 1998 with Zinedine Zidane its talisman and playmaker in an era when the team was referred to as Black-Blanc-Beur (Black-White-Arab), a reference to its diverse ethnic make up.

In Russia, they beat Croatia 4-2, with President Emmanuel Macron leaping for joy in the stands.

"I'm chuffed, I've been waiting a month for this moment," said another life-long supporter, Jerome Cornec.

The Nike-branded strips are huge money-spinners. France's official shirt costs 85 euros (£76.3).









(Reporting by Reuters TV; editing by Richard Lough and Hugh Lawson)


Share
1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world