"Today, there are eleven black players in the French national team": Pierre Ménès' shocking statement | OneFootball

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"Today, there are eleven black players in the French national team": Pierre Ménès' shocking statement | OneFootball

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·5 September 2025

"Today, there are eleven black players in the French national team": Pierre Ménès' shocking statement

Article image:"Today, there are eleven black players in the French national team": Pierre Ménès' shocking statement

Pierre Ménès' shocking statement about the French national team

Equipe de France/@lavoixdunord

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Former Canal+ pundit Pierre Ménès pulled no punches in a statement made on the show "Bistro Libertés," produced by the YouTube channel TVLibertés.

The 2013 best football analyst in France voiced his outrage over the significant presence of black and North African players in French football.

Article image:"Today, there are eleven black players in the French national team": Pierre Ménès' shocking statement

In this regard, he recounted an incident his son experienced with the Torcy U12 team in the Île-de-France region.

My 11-year-old son stopped playing football after three training sessions. [...] In the team, there were only North Africans and black players, that's the reality of French football. That's the reality of football in Île-de-France, and of French football as a whole. If you go to watch an honor division match in the Paris region, you'll usually see just one white player on the pitch. He's either the goalkeeper or the right-back. And look at the French national team, today there are eleven black players.

A rather shocking statement, surfacing in a particularly tense context in France, where immigration is being singled out by some political parties and even a segment of the French public.

This hostile atmosphere towards the children of immigrants could push some dual-national or even triple-national talents to choose African national teams over France.

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