“Black, Blanc, Beur” : a contradição entre os imigrantes na seleção de futebol masculino e na sociedade francesa

Abstract

The French Men’s National Football Team, popularly known as “Black, Blanc, Beur” in reference to the variety of ethnicities of its players, seeks to present itself as a positive portrayal of immigration in the country, and above all, as a great example of the successful integration of these immigrants into society. This study, therefore, seeks to demystify this representation, exposing the contradiction that exists between immigrants in french society, targets of prejudice and marginalized, and immigrants in the French National Team, celebrated and glorified, focusing on the two generations that won the World Cup for France, those of 1998 and 2018, and the respective governments at the time, led by Jacques Chirac and Emmanuel Macron. The methodology used was predominantly qualitative, with studies on immigration and integration in France, in addition to historiography on the French National Team and the immigrants and their descendants who wore the blue jersey. The development of the research invariably involved the policies implemented by the presidents, with their due social impacts; the questioning of the French republican integration model; by the daily challenges faced by immigrants in the country; and by the political portrait created by the National Team, its achievements on the pitch, and by the positions taken by the players who made history wearing the blue shirt.