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France's defeated football team WILL greet fans in Paris after all

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
France's defeated football team WILL greet fans in Paris after all
France's team poses on the podium with their silver medals. Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP

After a confusing day of conflicting announcements, police have confirmed that France's defeated football players will greet fans in Paris on Monday evening.

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The event was first announced on Monday morning by Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, before being contradicted by Noël Le Graët, head of the French football federation.

However, the federation later said that there would be an event, and this has now been confirmed by the Police police chief, who has released security details for the event.

There will be no victory parade for the players, who lost to Argentina on penalties in the final, but the players will instead thank French fans for their support in the event in Place de la Concorde on Monday evening.

The team will land at Charles de Gaulle airport at 6pm and then travel to Place de la Concorde. 

Police said that 1,940 extra officers will be on duty and there will be road closures in place around Place de la Concorde from 4pm, with Concorde Metro station also closing.

 

Star player Kylian Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot award for most goals scored in the tournament despite ending up on the losing side, simply tweeted "we'll be back" on Monday.

 

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France lost on penalties on Sunday after a pulsating game that finished 3-3, enabling Argentinian captain Lionel Messi to lift the World Cup in what is expected to be his last appearance at the competition.

"Invited to the coronation of Lionel Messi, Les Bleus were heroic," said L'Equipe sports newspaper, taking a magnanimous tone that was mirrored elsewhere in France.

Most commentators hailed the drama-filled game that was dominated by Argentina for the first 80 minutes before a quickfire double by Kylian Mbappé ignited France.

"Proud of our Bleus," read a headline on the front page of Le Parisien newspaper with a picture of the team standing together during the penalty shootout.

"Football is often more than a sport. In the run up to Christmas, this World Cup has been a magnificent present," the right-wing newspaper Le Figaro said in an editorial.

A total of 24.08 million people watched the match on Sunday on TF1 television, an all-time record audience for a French network, the channel said.

The interior ministry said that 227 people were arrested in France after the game, with 47 in Paris, after trouble flared in half a dozen French towns 

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