French President Emmanuel Macron is about to jet off to Qatar for the second time in a week, despite broad concerns about the emirate’s human rights and environmental record.
, as well as women and minorities. Many activists, especially in Europe, had urged a boycott of the tournament.
He referred to the more than 20 million viewers who watched the semifinal on French TF1 television, a record high for a World Cup game since 2006. “Figures are there. We love our national team, we are proud of it, we want it to win,” Macron said. The French president had announced in advance that he would attend the semifinal and final if France qualified — just like he did during the previous World Cup won by the French in Russia in 2018.Paris and some other French big cities have decided not to broadcast World Cup matches on giant screens in public fan zones amid concerns about Qatar’s human rights record.
The France-Qatar relationship, which dates back to the emirate's independence in the 1970s, includes a broad range of political, economic and security agreements that involves oil contracts, arms sales and cultural exchanges. Leading French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain has been owned by Qatar Sports Investments for more than 11 years.
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