French ministers condemn ex-PM Rajoy over racist World Cup remark
Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has triggered a diplomatic incident between Madrid and Paris after French politicians unanimously condemned a xenophobic comment he made about the French national football team.
Mariano Rajoy sparked a major political fallout between Spain and France by questioning the national identity of France’s World Cup squad. The former Spanish leader made the remark in an opinion piece published by online news site El Debate, timed just before the two nations faced each other in a highly anticipated semi-final match.
The current Spanish government moved quickly to distance itself from the controversy. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took to X to denounce the comment as explicitly "xenophobic." He argued that national belonging is determined by a person's roots and contributions, rather than their surname, birthplace, or skin colour. Transport Minister Óscar Puente was more blunt, publicly labelling Rajoy a "post-Franco idiot."
French officials reacted with swift and uniform outrage, highlighting the deep political sensitivity surrounding the national team's multicultural makeup. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told BFMTV the comment was "absolutely unacceptable." Aurore Berge, the minister against discrimination, demanded an end to these "repeated racist outbursts," arguing that athletes must be judged solely on their talent.
The criticism quickly escalated across the French political spectrum. Naima Moutchou, France's minister for overseas territories, framed the attack as evidence of a broader "systematic and widespread hatred of France." Communist party leader Fabien Roussel likened Rajoy's column to the widely condemned comments of Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla, who recently described French star Kylian Mbappé as a "colonised Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French." Socialist party leader Olivier Faure also pushed back, stating on X that France "has no skin colour or religion."
For European public life, this incident underscores how deeply national identity and immigration remain fused with sport on the continent. When former heads of state deploy exclusionary rhetoric, it risks inflaming cultural tensions that complicate cross-border relations and broader economic cooperation within the bloc. The fierce, coordinated pushback from both Madrid and Paris demonstrates that such rhetoric is increasingly viewed as a diplomatic liability rather than a viable political stance.
To counter the narrative, the French embassy in Madrid issued a direct factual rebuttal on social media. It stated that all 26 members of the French squad are French, noting that 23 were born in the country while the remaining three hold French nationality. Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, concluded the backlash by condemning the "intolerable undertone of racism" in Rajoy's writing.
