Tonight, France is going to explode.
For context, the vast majority of immigrants to France are from North Africa, meaning the countries of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. I am currently living in the immigrant neighborhood of Lyon — makes sense, since I’m an immigrant — and most of my neighbors are from those countries.
I have seen my neighborhood come to life over the past few weeks, in a way that is distinctly reminiscent of Knoxville on game day in the fall. This is because, for the first time in history, the Moroccan national soccer team has advanced to the semi-finals in the World Cup. They beat Portugal and Spain, two countries with long, painful histories of colonialism in Morocco. So the wins weren’t just about soccer; for many Moroccans, Africans, and Arabs, the wins were about justice.
France has been doing well in the World Cup, too. So well, in fact, that last Saturday they wrecked England and threw them out of the tournament. Police had to use teargas on revelers in Paris that night.
Tonight, France and Morocco go head to head to see who will go to the final match against Argentina. My neighborhood is rooting for Morocco, my city is rooting for France, and the country is rooting for both and neither. Part of the issue is that Moroccans are not treated kindly in France. They’re looked on as outsiders and job-stealers, even though Moroccan culture has been deeply entwined with French culture since the first boats starting moving back and forth across the Mediterranean. So just like the wins against Portugal and Spain, tonight’s game is about more than sport.
Remember when UTK students stormed the field and tossed a goal post in the river a while back? I want you to envision that energy covering dozens of city blocks. Now add street fireworks, gas canisters (used by police and civilians), scream-singing of national anthems, and parked cars in the middle of the streets with horns modified so they can’t be shut off.
I mean, listen. This is the country that did the Reign of Terror. They did the Revolution. They did the Paris Commune. These people can transform cities into riot zones like nobody else. Tonight, all of the hope, rage, anxiety, passion, and alcohol will mix together in a potentially fiery concoction over one of the most boring games in the world.
All I know is, no matter who wins, there’s no way I’m getting a good night’s rest.
Bises,
Allison
Flan in France 