Rajoy's statement about Les Bleus sparks outrage in France and Spain

Madrid – 12/07/2026: A column by former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has triggered a political controversy just days before the World Cup semi-final between France and Spain. Rajoy praised the high sporting quality of the French side, but also claimed that not a single Frenchman played in it. The remark appeared in an article for the online outlet El Debate following Spain’s quarter-final victory over Belgium.

The statement targets the origins and thus indirectly the belonging of several national team players. It is factually untenable: all 26 players nominated by national coach Didier Deschamps for the tournament hold French citizenship. According to the French Embassy in Madrid, 23 of them were born in France. Michael Olise, Marcus Thuram and Brice Samba were born abroad but are also French.

Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, the FFF, described the remarks as having unacceptable racist undertones. France’s players did not need a former Spanish head of government to certify their nationality. The French Embassy in Madrid also made clear that all members of the team were French. State and sporting institutions thus responded unusually directly to a published article by a former head of government.

Madrid also voiced opposition. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Rajoy’s comments as xenophobic. He noted that national belonging could not be defined by surnames, place of birth or skin colour. The socialist head of government contrasted this with an understanding of the nation based on roots, civic ties and contribution to the community. Rajoy led Spain from December 2011 to May 2018 and belongs to the conservative Partido Popular.

The incident touches on a recurring theme in the French debate over immigration, citizenship and representation that has persisted for decades. Following the 1998 World Cup triumph, players with family roots outside France had already become targets of similar attacks. The team of Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly was seen by many as an expression of a pluralistic French society; at the same time, its members’ belonging was disputed by the far right.

The controversy comes at a time of heightened attention to racist attacks against French players. Earlier, comments by Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla directed at captain Kylian Mbappe had been publicly condemned. In France, the judiciary opened an investigation following a complaint by the FFF over suspected aggravated public insult. Rajoy’s article now shifts the debate once again, ahead of the match on July 14, from sport to the realm of national identity and political symbolism.