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Tag: France

  • 6 things you may not know about Zinedine Zidane

    6 things you may not know about Zinedine Zidane

    There’s little left to say about ‘Zizou,’ undoubtedly one of the greatest ever figures in football history. But here are six things you may not know about Zinedine Zidane, from his remarkable trophy-winning statistics as Real Madrid coach to starring in his own TV documentary,

    1. HE AVERAGES A TROPHY EVERY 19 GAMES

    The 2019-20 LaLiga Santander title is Zinedine Zidane’s 11th as Real Madrid coach in just three and a half seasons, a figure which rounds out, incredibly, at around one trophy every 19 games. Also, he’s yet to lose a Champions League knockout tie, and is the only coach to win Ol’ Big Ears three seasons in a row. Having said that, there’s nothing quite like winning LaLiga for Zidane, as he made clear this Thursday after wrapping up the title: “The Champions League is the Champions League, but this title makes me happier because LaLiga is what it’s all about.”

     

    2. HE IS REAL MADRID’S FIRST FRENCH MANAGER

    Real Madrid have had many French players over the years and they’ve had head coaches from 16 different countries. But ZZ is the first Frenchman to sit in the club’s dugout as coach. He first took over in January 2016, staying on until May 2018 before taking over again in March 2019. Taking into account this season’s LaLiga Santander title, he’s already won 11 trophies as manager. Remarkable.

     

    3. JUST ONE TROPHY ELUDES HIM

    Zidane has won almost everything there is to win in football, from the World Cup and Champions League to the Ballon d’Or and a horde of domestic titles. But the Copa del Rey remains elusive, both as a player and manager. He won the 2014 Copa del Rey as an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, but to date he is yet to win Spain’s domestic cup competition as a leading man.

     

    4. HIS SONS ARE FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTBALLING FOOTSTEPS

    Zidane is the father of four boys, all of which have made careers for themselves in the world of football. Midfielder Enzo is currently on the books of Almeria UD and pushing for promotion out of LaLiga SmartBank, Spain’s second tier. Goalkeeper Luca is currently at Rayo Vallecano, while Theo and Elyaz and still underage and part of the youth academy at Los Blancos.

     

    5. THE MOST POPULAR FRENCHMAN OF ALL TIME

    In a 2004 poll in leading French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Zidane was voted as the most popular Frenchman of all time. The poll wasn’t limited to sports stars but took all public figures into account, with Zidane’s footballing exploits seeing him picked ahead of other iconic personalities. ZZ explained at the time that he was proud of how someone from an immigrant background could come top in such a poll, highlighting the importance of racial harmony in modern day France.

     

    6. HE STARRED IN HIS OWN DOCUMENTARY

    Back in 2006, ZZ was the star of French documentary Zidane, Un Portrait Du 21e Siecle (“Zidane, a 21st century portrait”). This very unique show saw a film crew focus 17 cameras on the Frenchman for the entirety of a Real Madrid match against Villarreal in 2005. But that’s not all he’s done in the world of film; he has also starred in movies such as Goal! II (2007) alongside the likes of Sergio Ramos, David Beckham and Thierry Henry and Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008).

    Tribalfootball

  • France, Germany announce fresh lockdown as second COVID-19 wave sweeps Europe

    France, Germany announce fresh lockdown as second COVID-19 wave sweeps Europe

    French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered their countries back into lockdown on Wednesday, as a massive second wave of coronavirus infections threatened to overwhelm Europe before the winter.

    World stock markets went into a dive in response to the news that Europe’s biggest economies were imposing nationwide restrictions almost as severe as the ones that drove the global economy this year into its deepest recession in generations.

    “The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated,” Macron said in a televised address. “Like all our neighbours, we are submerged by the sudden acceleration of the virus.”

    “We are all in the same position: overrun by a second wave which we know will be harder, more deadly than the first,” he said. “I have decided that we need to return to the lockdown which stopped the virus.”

    Under the new French measures which come into force on Friday, people will be required to stay in their homes except to buy essential goods, seek medical attention, or exercise for up to one hour a day. They will be permitted to go to work if their employer deems it impossible for them to do the job from home. Schools will stay open.

    As in the darkest days of spring, anyone leaving their home in France will now have to carry a document justifying being outside, which can be checked by police.

    Germany will shut bars, restaurants and theatres from Nov. 2-30 under measures agreed between Merkel and heads of regional governments. Schools will stay open, and shops will be allowed to operate with strict limits on access.

    “We need to take action now,” Merkel said. “Our health system can still cope with this challenge today, but at this speed of infections it will reach the limits of its capacity within weeks.”

    Her finance minister, Olaf Scholz, posted on Twitter: “November will be a month of truth. The increasing numbers of infections are forcing us to take tough countermeasures in order to break the second wave.”

    France has surged above 36,000 new cases a day. Germany, which was less hard-hit than its European neighbours early this year, has seen an exponential rise in cases.

    In the United States, a new wave of infections has been setting records with six days to go until Election Day. President Donald Trump has played down the virus and shows no sign of cancelling public rallies where his supporters often refuse to wear masks or keep a safe distance.

    European stock markets closed at their lowest levels since late May on Wednesday. In the United States, the S&P 500 was down 3%.

    In an effort to blunt the economic impact, Germany will set aside up to 10 billion euros ($12 billion) to partly reimburse companies for lost sales. Italy has set aside more than 5 billion euros.

  • Saudi Arabia wades in on French cartoon debate as row escalates

    Saudi Arabia wades in on French cartoon debate as row escalates

    Saudi Arabia on Tuesday waded in on a debate surrounding France’s defence of the right to show cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, calling the image of the prophet ‘offensive’.

    A foreign ministry official said in a statement that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia rejects any attempt to link Islam with terrorism and denounces cartoons offensive to Prophet Mohammed or any of the other prophets.’’

    Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is the latest Muslim country to express anger over the cartoons, which originally appeared in French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

    The right to publish them was recently defended by President Emmanuel Macron.

    Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s influential seat of learning, has also denounced the cartoons, saying the attack on Islam was part of a systematic campaign to use Islam to win political battles.

    Calls to stop buying French products have been gaining momentum in recent days.

    Over the weekend, traders in Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar removed French goods from their stores in response to the calls.

    Social media users also shared a list of French brands such as carmarkers Peugeot and Renault as well as dairy brands Kiri, Babybel and Danone, calling for people to boycott them.

  • Pogba denies quitting France team over Macron comments

    Pogba denies quitting France team over Macron comments

    Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba on Monday denied media reports which said he quit the France national team over comments made by the country’s President Emmanuel Macron.

    The comments were perceived to be against Islam.

    The French leader this month had declared war on “Islamist separatism”, which he believes is taking over some Muslim communities in France.

    A newspaper report alleged that Pogba, a practising Muslim, reacted to Macron’s comments by quitting the national team.

    “Unacceptable,” the 27-year-old wrote on a Twitter post along with a “fake news” sticker on a screenshot of the headline.

    “So …….. (the newspaper) did it again,” he added. “Absolutely 100 per cent unfounded news about me are going around, stating things I have never said or thought.

    “I am appalled, angry, shocked and frustrated some ‘media’ sources use me to make total fake headlines in the sensible subject of French current events and adding the French national team to the pot.

    “I am against any and all forms of terror and violence.

    “Unfortunately, some press people don’t act responsibly when writing the news, abusing their press freedom, not verifying if what they write/reproduce is true, creating a gossip chain without caring (if) it affects people’s lives and my life.”

    Pogba added that he was taking legal action against the publishers.

    “We reported on a story that Paul Pogba had taken the decision to quit the French national football team after it was published on a sports website,” the newspaper said in a statement.

    “The story was also published by two other newspapers and other websites.

    “Subsequently, Paul Pogba has denied the claim and we have updated our story accordingly. We apologise for any upset caused.”

    The report came days after Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher who was beheaded by an Islamist radical.

    He was beheaded for using cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression for 13-year-olds.

  • Former France goalkeeper, Bruno Martini is dead

    Bruno Martini former France goalkeeper and deputy director of Montpellier’s training centre has died at 58, the Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday.

    Martini was hospitalised after suffering a cardiac arrest at the training centre last week.

    He spent majority of his career at Auxerre and Montpellier and also played 31 times for France.

    Following a memorable 18-year career, Martini became a goalkeeping coach with the France squad that won the Euros in 2000 and finished runners-up at the World Cup in 2006.

    “Today, French football mourns one of the greatest goalkeepers in its history and one of Montpellier’s most loyal servants, on and off the pitch,” the club said in a statement.

    “He leaves the image of a good man, always ready to help, and who never missed the opportunity to distill a kind word to each of his interlocutors.”

  • COVID-19: PTF warns Nigerians against travelling to US, UK, France, others

    COVID-19: PTF warns Nigerians against travelling to US, UK, France, others

    The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday warned Nigerians against travelling to or receiving travellers from the United States of America, United Kingdom, India, Russia and France.

    The warning came on the backdrop of increased COVID-19 cases in those countries.

    It also warned #EndSARS protesters against contracting and spreading the virus while gathering to protest against the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

    The calls were made at the PTF’s media briefing in Abuja on Monday.

    The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu, while answering a question on the protests, said, “On the impact of what has been going on and incidence of (having) new COVID-19 infections in the country, we are monitoring the situation in terms of testing closely.

    “We will continue to urge all – the young, the old, and the vulnerable – to please be careful. Any mass gathering of any sort is an event amplifying the situation for COVID-19. And COVID-19 is still very much around with us, we don’t want to get infected and carry the infection to our loved ones, especially those at home that might be vulnerable.”

    The task force’s chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, also corroborated Aliyu’s position.

    The SGF, who urged the #EndSARS protesters to harken to the invitation to dialogue, emphasising that non-compliance with the non-pharmaceutical protocols were risky adventures that must be avoided.

    “We urge everyone who has been exposed unduly to large gathering to get tested and/or report any signs of the symptoms of COVID-19,” he said.

    Mustapha also noted that the global cases of COVID-19 rose by a record 400,000 cases on October 16 with 43 per cent of all the cases occurring in Europe, especially in the UK and France.

    “The top five countries in new cases reported in the last 24 hours are India (55,511); USA (44,941); France (29,837); UK (16,982) and Russia (15,099).

    “It is important to take precaution when planning to travel or receive travellers from these countries,” he said.

    He however said Nigeria was on the path to winning the war against the virus.

    Mustapha said, “The PTF continues to monitor developments in-country and around the world so as to improve on its activities and its decisions.”

    He said 4,876 patients recovered and were discharged which represents a 388 per cent increase when compared with 967 people discharged in the previous week.

    The SGF added that cumulatively, a total of 56,611 patients had been discharged after treatment, representing 92 per cent of all cases in Nigeria.

    “Last week was week 34 of our National Response and week 42 of the year. Indications are that Nigeria appears to be winning the war against COVID-19. Some of the current figures support this position.”

    According to him, in the 34th week of the pandemic in Nigeria, a total of 1,174 new cases were recorded in the country, representing a 32 per cent increase from the 921 recorded in the previous week.

    Mustapha said, “This statistical review becomes very relevant when we remember that over the same period, quite a number of large gathering events, particularly the protests across the country have been taking place.

    “It becomes more pertinent because of the fact that measures such as mask wearing, social distancing and use of sanitisers were never observed.”

  • Fire breakout at Nantes Cathedral in France, authorities suspect arson

    Fire breakout at Nantes Cathedral in France, authorities suspect arson

    A fire in the 15-century cathedral in the western French city of Nantes blew out stained glass windows and destroyed the grand organ on Saturday, and officials said they suspected arson.

    Prosecutor Pierre Sennes told reporters three fires had been started at the site and authorities were treating the incident as a criminal act. He gave no other details.

    Officials said an investigation had been opened.

    The fire began in the early morning, engulfing the inside in massive flames, and dozens of firemen brought it under control after several hours. Smoke was still coming out of the Gothic structure later on Saturday morning.

    The blaze comes just over a year after a massive fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which destroyed its roof and main spire.

    “After Notre-Dame, the St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral is in flames. Support to the firemen who are taking all the risks to save the Gothic jewel,” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted from Brussels, where he was attending an EU summit.

    Local fire chief Laurent Ferlay told reporters 104 firemen were still at the site to ensure the blaze was completely under control.

    The fire broke out behind the grand organ, which was completely destroyed, he said. Stained glassed windows at the front of the cathedral were blown out.

    However, the damage was not as bad as initially feared.

    “We are not in a Notre-Dame de Paris scenario. The roof has not been touched,” Ferlay said.

    Prime Minister Jean Castex and the culture and interior ministers were due to visit the scene later in the day.

    “I want to know what happened even if it’s very early,” Castex told reporters.

    Jean-Yves Burban, who runs a newsagent facing the cathedral, said he had opened his business and heard a bang at around 7:30 a.m.. He went outside to see huge flames coming from the building.

    “I am shook up because I’ve been here eight years and I see the cathedral every morning and evening,” he told Reuters. “It’s our cathedral and I’ve got tears in my eyes.”

    It was not the first time fire has damaged the cathedral in Nantes, which is about 340 km (210 miles) southwest of Paris.

    It was partly destroyed during World War Two in 1944 after Allied bombings. In 1972 a fire completely ravaged its roof. It was finally rebuilt 13 years later with a concrete structure replacing the ancient wooden roof.

    “The fire of 1972 is in our minds, but at this stage the simulation is not comparable,” Nantes Mayor Johanna Rolland told reporters.

    In 2015, a fire that appeared to have been caused by renovation work destroyed most of the roof of another church in Nantes, the Saint Donatien Basilica.

  • Brother of Tottenham’s Aurier shot dead in France

    Brother of Tottenham’s Aurier shot dead in France

    The brother of Tottenham Hotspur’s Cote d’Ivoire defender Serge Aurier has been shot dead in France, the English Premier League (EPL) club said on Monday.

    The brother, Christopher Aurier, was shot at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning in the southern French city of Toulouse, according to La Depeche, a French media outlet.

    The suspected gunman fled the scene and is being sought by police, according to a French police source.

    Serge Aurier, who is 27, joined Spurs in 2017 from French club Paris St-Germain (PSG).

    In a message posted on Twitter, Tottenham said: “Everybody at the club sends their sincerest condolences to Serge and his family. Our thoughts are with them all.”

  • Mexico surpasses France in coronavirus death toll

    Mexico surpasses France in coronavirus death toll

    Mexico reported 523 more coronavirus deaths on Saturday, pushing its tally to 30,366, overtaking France to become the fifth-highest in the world.

    The health ministry also reported 6,914 new infections and a total of 252,165 confirmed cases.

    Deputy Health Minister Hugo Gatell reiterated that the actual number of infected was probably significantly higher.

    “We knew from the beginning that the cases we report here do not represent the total number of people with COVID-19 in Mexico,” he told a regular news conference.

    “Neither Mexico nor any other country in the world aims to make an exhaustive count.”

    Citing unpublished figures from the civil registry, broadcaster Milenio said that by June 19 almost twice as many people had died from the virus as reported by Gatell.

    Reuters was unable to immediately verify the information.

  • France counters U.S, bans use of Hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19 patients

    France counters U.S, bans use of Hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19 patients

    The French government on Wednesday canceled a decree allowing hospital doctors to administer hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to patients suffering severe forms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

    The ban, which takes immediate effect, is the first by a country since the World Health Organisation said on Monday it was pausing a large trial of the malaria drug on COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns.

    The cancellation of the decree, which in effect means the drug is now banned for such use, was announced in the government’s official bulletin and confirmed by a statement by the health ministry.

    However, it did not refer to the WHO suspension.

    France decided at the end of March to allow the use of hydroxychloroquine, which in addition to malaria is approved for treating lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, in specific situations and in hospitals only for treating COVID-19 patients.

    British medical journal The Lancet has reported that patients getting hydroxychloroquine had increased death rates and irregular heartbeats, adding to a series of other disappointing results for the drug as a way to treat COVID-19.

    US President Donald Trump and others have pushed hydroxychloroquine in recent months as a possible coronavirus treatment.

    No vaccine or treatment has yet been approved to treat COVID-19, which has killed over 350,000 people globally.