Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sparked an international uproar after writing in an opinion piece published Sunday that the French national football team "does not have any French players". The French embassy in Madrid responded that all squad members are French citizens, with 23 of 26 born in France.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denounced the remarks as xenophobic, while Transport Minister Óscar Puente called Rajoy a "post-Francoist idiot". French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez labelled the comments "completely unacceptable", and Equality Minister Aurore Bergé decried repeated racist outbursts.
French Communist leader Fabien Roussel likened the remarks to racist comments by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla about Kylian Mbappé. Overseas Territories Minister Naïma Moutchou described the statement as methodical hatred toward France and urged legal action. French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo said the comments carried an intolerable racist tone. Socialist leader Olivier Faure countered that France is a political nation, not an ethnic one.