Earlier this week Trevor Noah, a prominent comedy host in the United States, praised “Africa” for its World Cup victory, considering the immigrant heritage of many of the French squad's players and their families.
The joke triggered controversy in France, with some social media users accusing the comedian Noah — a South African born to a black mother and white father during apartheid — of racism.
French ambassador to the US Gerard Araud on Wednesday sent Noah a stern letter criticizing the joke, saying “nothing could be less true.”
“The rich and various backgrounds of these players is a reflection of France's diversity,” Araud said. “Unlike in the United States of America, France does not refer to its citizens based on their race, religion or origin.”
“To us, there is no hyphenated identity, roots are an individual reality,” the ambassador continued. “By calling them an African team, it seems you are denying their Frenchness.
“This, even in jest, legitimizes the ideology which claims whiteness as the only definition of being French.”
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the same time,” he said.
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