Part of the crowd at the Stade de France on Friday whistled at French President Emmanuel Macron during his opening speech at the 2023 Rugby World Cup between host country France and New Zealand.
“Allez les Bleus” also came from the stands as the French president called for applause from “all teams” and as he called for a victory for the hosts of this World Cup, which will last eight weeks, before announcing his verdict on October 28th.
Also in Marseille, in the “fan zone” set up on the beach, on the Escale Borély and on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the audience whistled in large numbers during his speech, with some insults being fired.
“Let’s play,” the head of state began at the end of his speech, which was followed by an opening ceremony in which French actor Jean Dujardin, Oscar winner for “The Artist,” celebrated “the French art of living” for around twenty minutes.
This ceremony, attended by 44 professional artists and 240 volunteers around Jean Dujardin and his guests, preceded the first game (9:15 p.m.) of the competition between France and New Zealand, three-time World Champions of Group A.
AFP
The actor, a big rugby fan and accompanied by around thirty “representative and emblematic personalities” of France, is the main character and one of the three designers of this show, which goes back to the “roots of French culture”.
Among these guests, from cinema, music, dance, urban cultures or even gastronomy and crafts: the chefs Guy Savoy and Yves Camdeborde, the former rugby national player Lénaïg Corson, the singer Vianney, prima ballerina Alice Renavand, the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, or pastry chef Pierre Hermé.
After Mr Macron’s speech, the Blues and the All Blacks entered the arena where, in the sweltering heat of the overheated Stade de France, which required heatwave and excitement, the two teams fought a duel that, according to the traditional, turned into a Dantesque Match developed New Zealand Haka.
AFP