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EURO 2016

EURO

Six things you didn’t know about France and Iceland

To everyone’s surprise, it will be the underdog Iceland squaring off against host country France in the quarter-finals of the Euro 2016 on Sunday. Here are some surprising links between the two countries that you might not know about.

Six things you didn’t know about France and Iceland
Photo: omgponies2/Flickr, Jean-Phi92/Flickr

27,000 Icelandic football fans have come to France to support their team in the Euro 2016 tournament.

Not bad for a country of 332,000 people. That’s about 8 percent of their population.

“It's like having your family at the game,” Iceland defender Kari Árnason said. “I know probably 50 percent of the crowd — or at least recognize them.”

And the fans were certainly ecstatic after the team’s surprise victory over England on Monday. The president himself is coming to watch the match on Sunday. 

But enough about football.

Here are a few connections between France and Iceland that you probably don't know about.

Icelanders love their fromage almost as much as the French do

Photo: omgponies2/Flickr

Everyone knows that the French eat more cheese than any other country in the world. But did you know that the second biggest cheese consumer is in fact… Iceland?

The average Icelander eats an impressive 25.2 kg of cheese per year, just slightly less than France’s 25.9 kg, according to the International Dairy Federation.

But Icelandic cheese doesn’t look or taste anything like your typical French Brie or Camembert. Iceland’s cheese of choice, called Skyr, is actually more yogurt-like and eaten with spoons. It’s been a part of Icelandic cuisine for over a thousand years. 

And for good reason, you'll agree if you've tasted it. 

A taste of Iceland in Paris

Photo: Lemon Paris Facebook Page

Wondering where you can try some of this delightful Skyr? 

Good news if you’re in Paris: the first Icelandic juice bar came to the French capital in 2015. Lemon in the 2nd arrondissement spins out smoothies and juices with names like “Icelandic flirt”, often incorporating their beloved Skyr.  

Lemon is your spot if you'd like to get a taste of Iceland's favorite fromage in Paris.

The French really love the land of ice and fire…

So much in fact that over 65,000 of them visited the tiny country in 2015, according to data looking at arrivals through the main airport outside of Reykjavik.  

For Iceland enthusiasts in Paris, the Icelandic Embassy organized nearly a month’s worth of events surrounding the country’s national holiday on June 17th, with concerts by Icelandic musicians and tastings of Icelandic specialties. 

The friendship between French and Icelandic fisherman

The French museum in Fáskrúðsfjörður. Photo: jbdodane/Flickr

It turns out French fisherman were a significant part of Iceland’s history. 

For over 300 years until 1938, about 5,000 French men per year came to fish cod in Icelandic waters.

“The Icelandic Nobel Prize winning author Mr. Halldór Laxness described in an article in 1943 the close ties between the French fishermen and the Icelanders,” said Halldór Ásgrímsson, previous Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, in a speech to the French Senate in Paris in 1997.

“Both had to endure the harsh environment of Icelandic waters. This reality developed a mutual understanding and respect between the fishermen of both countries.”

The village of Fáskrúðsfjörður in eastern Iceland is home to a French museum and a hotel that was originally built as a hospital for these French fishermen, complete with a restaurant, bar, and beneath it an underground tunnel made to like a French yacht. 

French film festival in Reykjavik

Icelanders are big French film buffs it seems.

Iceland’s major cultural event of the year, attracting around 10,000 people each year to the capital of Reykjavik, is none other than a French film festival. 

Organized by the French Embassy in Reykjavik, Alliance Francaise, and Green Light Films, the festival celebrated its 16th year in 2016.

 The Icelandic horse in France

Photo: Mary Warren

The purebred, hardy little horses that you can find peaceful grazing in fields all around Iceland are the national pride of the country, and the robust breed has now come to France. 

An organization called Pur Cheval has a mission “to make our Icelandic horses shine here in France”, according to their website.

Stop by their headquarters in Breteau in north-central France if you’d like to befriend some of these friendly, stocky horses (and don’t you dare call them ponies).

So what do you think — will host country France triumph on Sunday, or will the lovable underdog Icelanders steal the spotlight once again?

By Katie Warren

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FOOTBALL

‘I’m fine — under the circumstances’: Collapsed Danish striker tweets from hospital

Christian Eriksen, the Danish football player who collapsed on the pitch in his country's opening Euro 2020 game, said that he was doing "fine" in an Instagram post from hospital on Tuesday.

'I’m fine — under the circumstances': Collapsed Danish striker tweets from hospital
Danish striker Christian Eriksen tweeted a picture of himself in hospital. Photo: DBU

“I’m fine — under the circumstances, I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay,” he wrote in a post accompanying a photo of him smiling and giving a thumbs-up while lying in bed.

In a scene that shocked the sporting world and beyond, the 29-year-old Inter Milan midfielder suddenly collapsed on the field in the 43rd minute of Denmark’s Group B game on Saturday against Finland in Copenhagen.

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Medical personnel administered CPR as he lay motionless on the field for about 15 minutes before being carried off the pitch and rushed to hospital. He was later confirmed to have suffered cardiac arrest.

“Big thanks for your sweet and amazing greetings and messages from all around the world. It means a lot to me and my family,” he wrote in Tuesday’s post. “Now, I will cheer on the boys on the Denmark team in the next matches. Play for all of Denmark.”

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