Among the reasons for this boycott are in particular the treatment of immigrant workers and the number of deaths as part of the construction of the eight stages of competition.
Le Monde with AFP
No fan zones, no giant screens: Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nancy and Reims joined, Monday, October 3, the list of French cities refusing for humanitarian and environmental reasons to promote the World Football Meetings – To be held in Qatar from November 20 to December 18 -, after Strasbourg, Lille or Rodez.
“This competition has gradually transformed into a human and environmental disaster, incompatible with the values that we want to see through sport and in particular football,” explained the Marseille municipality, led by the socialist Benoît Payan Head of a large left -wing coalition and ecologist, in a press release:
“Marseille, strongly attached to the values of sharing and solidarity of 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 welcomed these fan zones, to be an accomplice” of “this sporting event which represents all the humanitarian, ecological and sporting aberrations”, said the mayor on Monday morning Ecologist 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 “discrepancy” 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 the allocation of the next World Cups in order to integrate these challenges of sobriety and respect for human law “.
Finally, for the mayor of Reims Arnaud Robinet (horizons), “at a time when the public authorities are asking (…) to reduce [the] energy consumption, such facilities would arouse legitimate misunderstanding (. ..) for one of the most controversial events in the history of sport “.
Among the reasons for this boycott are in particular the treatment of immigrant workers and the number of deaths as part of the construction of the eight stages of the World Cup. If the official assessment is only three dead, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported in a report of 50 workers who died in labor accidents in Qatar in 2020, and 500 seriously injured, a figure that could be higher according to her due to gaps in the accident census system.
“nonsense with regard to human rights”
In addition to the question of human rights, Pierre Hurmic also refused to be “incoherent” compared to the efforts requested from the population in matters of “energy sobriety”. “You cannot call your fellow citizens to sobriety and you yourself be an accomplice of energy aberration of this nature” he said, adding that “those who allocated the World Cup in Qatar in 2010 were to Light years of what an energy sobriety was “.
The ecological mayor of the city, elected in 2020, said that the decision would have been the same if the World Cup had played in summer. And no screen will be set up if France arrives in the final, he said. A month and a half of the start of the competition, Mr. Hurmic is convinced “that other mayors will make identical decisions in the coming days”. He also indicated that he would not watch the competition.
Saturday, the socialist mayor of Lille Martine Aubry had also announced that no giant screen would be installed, denouncing “nonsense with regard to human rights, the environment and sport”. A decision also made in Rodez and Strasbourg, in particular.