French-Canadian singer and songwriter Nina Tonji sparked backlash across France on October 25, 2026, after altering the lyrics of the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise,” ahead of the NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Saints at the Stade de France in Paris. Performing live in front of a stadium full of people, Tonji modified a line of the song to send a pro-immigrant message, prompting condemnation from French journalists and public figures.
Stade de France Lyric Modification
Before kickoff at the Paris venue, Tonji altered the traditional line “Qu’un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!” to “Qu’un sang uni abreuve nos sillons!” according to coverage by Fox News. Translated from the original French, the traditional lyric means “May impure blood water our furrows/fields.” By replacing the word impur (impure) with uni (united), the singer transformed the passage into an appeal for national unity and solidarity that includes immigrants to nourish France’s soil.
In the revolutionary context of the anthem, “impure blood” referred to enemies and traitors – particularly French immigrants fighting alongside foreign armies, according to Fox News. Media outlets reporting on the event noted that the alteration effectively shifted the anthem’s message away from violently excluding foreign enemies toward finding unity with foreigners and immigrants.
Nina Tonji performs the national anthem of France live from @StadeFrance 🇫🇷 @NFLFrance PITvsNO on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1JBfVCNsfz— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Social Media Outrage in France
The performance generated heavy criticism across digital platforms, with French commentators and journalists questioning the appropriateness of altering a sovereign nation’s historic anthem at an international sporting exhibition. Yves Bourdillon, a journalist for the French financial and economic newspaper Les Echos, voiced his disapproval on X, questioning how the artist would respond if a performer rewrote Canada’s national anthem in a similar fashion. Bourdillon criticized the grammatical and contextual fit of the substituted word, pointing out that replacing the term for enemy blood with a generic appeal for unity remains contradictory within the song’s original structure.
Nina Tonji performs the national anthem of France live from @StadeFrance 🇫🇷 @NFLFrance PITvsNO on NFL NetworkStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/1JBfVCNsfz
Similarly, intellectual, sociologist and media personality Mathieu Bock-Côté condemned the performance in a public post on X, suggesting that Tonji doesn’t know how to sing and doesn’t respect France’s national anthem. Bock-Côté asserted that the person performing should respect the spirit of the Marseillaise and the traditional way of singing it, rather than modifying the lyrics of the national anthem as if it belonged to her.
NFL Paris Exhibition Context
The fixture brought an NFL match to France for the first time, expanding the league's international reach. However, the cultural friction surrounding the pre-game ceremony overshadowed the athletic contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Saints, drawing intense debate over the boundaries of artistic expression during official state ceremonies.
