No fan zones, no giant screens: Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy and Reims joined, on Monday October 3, the list of French cities refusing for humanitarian and environmental reasons to promote World Cup matches – which will will be held in Qatar from November 20 to December 18 –, after Strasbourg, Lille or Rodez.
“For us, there was no question of setting up match broadcasting areas for several reasons: the first is the conditions for organizing this World Cup, both in terms of the environmental and social aspects, the second, it’s the temporality, the fact that it takes place in the month of December”said Pierre Rabadan, the deputy in charge of sport at the town hall of Paris, for whom “this model of big events goes against what [Paris] wish to organize ».
“This competition has gradually turned into a human and environmental disaster, incompatible with the values that we want to see carried through sport and especially football”explained the Marseille municipality, led by the socialist Benoît Payan at the head of a broad left-wing and environmentalist coalition, in a press release:
“Marseille, strongly attached to the values of sharing and solidarity in sport and committed to building a greener city, cannot contribute to the promotion of this 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar. »
“I would really have the impression, if Bordeaux hosted these fan zones, of being an accomplice” of “this sporting event which represents all humanitarian, ecological and sporting aberrations”had declared for his part on Monday morning the ecological mayor of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic.
“One of the most controversial events in the history of sport”
The city of Nancy pointed out in a press release the ” gap “ of “the use of air-conditioned stadiums during this World Cup (…) with the challenges of ecological transition” and called “the organizers (…) to seriously review the rules for awarding the next World Cups in order to integrate these issues of sobriety and respect for human rights”.
Finally, for the mayor of Reims Arnaud Robinet (Horizons), “at a time when the public authorities are asking (…) to reduce [la] energy consumption, such installations would cause legitimate misunderstanding (…) for one of the most controversial events in the history of sport”.
Among the reasons for this boycott include the treatment of immigrant workers and the number of deaths in the construction of the eight stadiums of the World Cup. While the official toll is only three dead, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported in a report that 50 workers died in workplace accidents in Qatar in 2020, and 500 were seriously injured, a figure that could be higher according to her due to shortcomings in the accident recording system.
A “non-sense with regard to human rights”
Apart from the question of human rights, Pierre Hurmic also refused to be “incoherent” in relation to the efforts requested of the population in terms of “energy sobriety”. “You cannot call your fellow citizens to sobriety and yourself be complicit in energy aberration of this nature” he said, adding that “Those who awarded the World Cup to Qatar in 2010 were light years away from energy sobriety”.
The environmental mayor of the city, elected in 2020, clarified that the decision would have been the same if the World Cup had been played in the summer. And no screens will be put up if France make it to the final, he said. A month and a half before the start of the competition, Mr. Hurmic is convinced “that other mayors will make identical decisions in the days to come”. He also indicated that he would not watch the competition.
On Saturday, the socialist mayor of Lille Martine Aubry also announced that no giant screen would be installed, denouncing a “Nonsense with regard to human rights, the environment and sport”. A decision also taken in Rodez and Strasbourg, in particular.
