At the heart of the party in Paris after Morocco qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup
Everything had already started badly. The big party was to take place at the Café Rive Droite (1st arrondissement of Paris), as for the eighth of Morocco against Spain. Doors closed, black screens, Saturday at 3 p.m. The Châtelet bar has only slightly tasted the post-match damage.
However, it is impossible to miss this very first quarter of the World Cup. Barely arrived at the neighbor, the McBrides Irish Pub, dozens of Moroccans also suffer the verdict of a dog. Tasked with choosing between two croquettes placed on each flag, the poodle chose Portugal. And the bartender, Irish, broadcasts the European Rugby Cup rather than the pre-match.
A victory for the whole Maghreb
Achraf, born in Rabat twenty-eight years ago, launches a song to ward off this bad fate. “Dirou finished the match” (“Put us the match”), will soon be the tube taken up by the whole establishment, crowded and heated like never before ten minutes before kickoff. The clientele is young, quite feminine. “ I’m too stressed, there will be tachycardia, blows Majda, a 23-year-old student who arrived a year ago from Casablanca. In the first period, we will be a wall, in the second, we will burst them. »
In truth, the group of four friends is anything but serene. After the national anthem, shouted with passion, Bashir launches an incantation in Arabic. He translates. “Prayer for our prophet, health to us, to our family, and thank God for everything. » And it works. 42nd minute, Morocco scores and it’s delirium in the bar. Bottles of Pulco fly, eardrums burst with each cry.
The joy of Moroccan fans on Saturday evening at the prospect of seeing the Atlas Lions face the Blues on Wednesday. (J.-M. Hervio/The Team)
Same atmosphere at Le Grenouille (16th arrondissement). The Moroccan community is strongly represented near the Trocadéro. A standard ” Sir ! “ (“Allez”) of release escapes from it shortly before 6 p.m. Ten minutes later, they all find themselves at the top of the avenue des Champs-Élysées, by 0°C. The vision of the twenty or so CRS trucks is quickly obstructed by smoke bombs, red like the jersey of Mountakhab, the national team.
In front of the Arc de Triomphe, it looks like this victory is that of the Maghreb as a whole. Youssef, 24, joins his friends under Tunisian and Algerian flags. The atmosphere is festive, the police simply frame the confused procession… until 8 p.m. As for the post-eighth final, violence and degradation follow the celebrations. It is better to leave.
“We are afraid that we will be reproached for supporting our country”
The good opportunity for Marwan, 26, to project himself on the future opponent. “We are going to watch England-France at my friend Hamza, do you want to come? » Here we are in a small apartment where we are waiting for fourteen friends on a sofa, our hands fond of burgers and our ears intoxicated with Viva Morocco, song by Hatim Ammor. These young people dream of facing the Blues, a flag of Morocco as a plaid. Here, we applaud the goals of Tchouaméni and Giroud, and we dance at the final whistle. “When Morocco is not playing, we support France, admits Lyazid. We can’t wait, what happens during this World Cup proves to us that there is no complex to have. » A joy tinged with fear. “We are afraid that we will be reproached for supporting our country, launches Salmane, approved by his comrades. And that doesn’t mean we don’t like France. To tell you, Moroccans will return to the country to watch the match. » But they will stay to celebrate peacefully, from this same apartment, a historic summit.