HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — France soccer captain Kylian Mbappé warned on Thursday his country is in a "catastrophic” political situation as it lurches closer to a first far-right government since World War II.
The National Rally gained strong results — around 33% of the vote nationwide — on Sunday in the first round of a rushed election, leaving Marine Le Pen’s party poised to potentially gain power.
The second round of the legislative elections are on Sunday and Mbappé, one of the most high-profile people in France, was asked if he had a message to the nation.
“I think now, more than ever, you need to get (out to vote),” said Mbappé, who was speaking in Hamburg, Germany, the day before France plays Portugal there in the European Championship quarterfinals.
“It is an urgent juncture. We cannot let our country fall into the hands of these people. It is pressing — we saw the results, it is catastrophic.”
Mbappé made a similar call earlier at Euro 2024, when he said “the extremes are knocking on the door of power.”
Now, there was a sense of urgency in his sentiments.
“We really hope this is going to change,” he said of the election results, “that everyone is going to rally together to go and vote, and vote for the right party.”
President Emmanuel Macron called the snap election after a defeat at the hands of the National Rally in European Parliament elections last month, gambling that the far-right would not repeat its success in a domestic ballot. The plan backfired and Le Pen’s rivals are now desperately trying to prevent the National Rally winning an outright majority in Sunday’s second round.
France's players have been asked regularly about the political situation back home during news conferences at Euro 2024.
Ousmane Dembele said “the alarm bell has been sounded” and fellow forward Marcus Thuram went further by saying French people “need to fight daily so that ... the National Rally does not succeed.”
The National Rally is the party with a history of racism and xenophobia.
France's soccer team that won the Euro 2000 title two years after lifting the nation’s first World Cup trophy in Paris was hailed as a model of diversity and unity. The mix of “Black, Blanc, Beur” (Black, white and Arab) players was an echo of the French tricolor flag of blue, white and red.
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, right, shakes hands with French soccer player Kylian Mbappe next to head coach Didier Deschamps as he arrives for lunch at the national soccer team training center in Clairefontaine, west of Paris, Monday, June 3, 2024. In the end, not even French president Emmanuel Macron could pull enough strings to free up his country's finest soccer player to compete in the Paris Games. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Kylian Mbappe of France applauds to fans after a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. France won 1-0. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Kylian Mbappe of France wears a face mask during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
CHAPIN, S.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden 's campaign provided lists of approved questions to two radio hosts who did the first interviews with him after his faltering debate performance, both hosts said on Saturday.
Biden's Thursday appearances on Black radio shows in the critical states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were his first chances to show he could answer questions and discuss his record after a debate in which the 81-year-old repeatedly struggled to complete sentences and press his case against Republican Donald Trump.
Radio host Earl Ingram said Saturday that Biden aides reached out to him directly for his interview that aired Thursday and sent him a list of four questions in advance, about which there was no negotiation.
“They gave me the exact questions to ask,” Ingram, whose “The Earl Ingram Show” is broadcast statewide across 20 Wisconsin outlets, told The Associated Press. “There was no back and forth.”
But moving forward from the pair of radio interviews, the Biden campaign plans to refrain from offering suggested questions to hosts, according to a person familiar with the candidate's interview booking process but not permitted to speak publicly about its operations.
But while the interviews were meant as part of an effort to restore faith in Biden’s ability not just to govern over the next four years but to successfully campaign, the revelation instead created questions about whether Biden was capable of performing in ad-hoc, unscripted moments following his disastrous debate performance.
Appearing with Ingram earlier on CNN, Andrea Lawful-Sanders — host of “The Source” on WURD in Philadelphia — said that she had received a list of eight questions, from which she approved four.
The Biden campaign noted that it is common practice to suggest questions and said it did not make acceptance of the questions a prerequisite for the interviews themselves.
Lauren Hitt, spokesperson for the Biden campaign, said it is “not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer,” adding that the questions sent to both Ingram and Lawful-Sanders “were relevant to news of the day,” including Biden’s debate performance and “what he’d delivered for Black Americans.”
She also pointed to a Virginia TV station saying Trump’s campaign called off an interview after the debate after the station's reporter refused to agree to conditions on his questions. The Trump campaign did not immediately return a message seeking comment on its interview practices or if such appearances had been canceled over subject matter.
Biden argued on Ingram's show that much more than his own political future was in jeopardy, saying: “The stakes are really high. I know you know this. For democracy, for freedom ... our economy, they’re all on the line.”
Ingram asked four questions in his 18-minute interview. He asked if Biden could “speak to to some accomplishments that we may or may not be familiar with about your record, especially here in Wisconsin,” what was at stake for Black voters in the election, what Biden would say to people who believe their vote doesn't matter, and if he could address his debate performance and a remark Trump made during the debate about people crossing the border and taking what he called “Black jobs.”
“I didn’t have a good debate. That’s 90 minutes on stage. Look at what I’ve done in 3.5 years," Biden said in answering the last question before speaking for several minutes about Trump, the economy and veterans' issues.
Since the interview with Biden, Ingram said all six phone lines for his weekday broadcast have been jammed with callers seeking to weigh in on whether Biden should quit the race, estimating that more than two-thirds want Biden to continue.
When asked about the set list of questions, Ingram — who has been in radio for 15 years and said he doesn't consider himself a journalist — said that the notion of receiving a set list of questions for a guest gave him pause, but also presented a perhaps once-in-a-career opportunity.
“I probably would never have accepted, it but this was an opportunity to talk to the president of the United States,” he said.
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
President Joe Biden arrives at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del., Friday, July 5, 2024, from a campaign rally in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One to depart at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wis., following a campaign visit, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters on the tarmac before departing at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wis., following a campaign visit, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
