The warm welcome to the French team in Paris

Supporters accompanied the vehicle with chants and flares to the downtown hotel from which the players and the technical staff greeted while their relatives left for their respective homes after the trip on a plane arranged by Air France.

“After yesterday’s pain, a little comfort”declared the goalkeeper and captain, Hugo Lloris.

The meeting between the “Bleus” and the fans confirmed the advance of the French Football Federation (FFF), which had to retrace its steps after announcing in the first instance that the team would not greet people in the Place de la Concorde in Paris despite their loss to Argentina. Noel Le Graet, president of the federation, had declared that there would be “no meeting” for the return of the “Bleus”, which in Qatar 2022 could not revalidate its title in Russia 2018.

“The players are in a hurry to go home. There will be no walk through the Champs-Élysées, the players will leave immediately after landing,” he explained. But according to the FFF, he was unaware of the players’ decision to go to the Place de la Concorde after returning to the country.

On the contrary, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, had anticipated that the festivities would take place normally despite the defeat: “They want to thank the fans,” he said.

In a few days, probably at the beginning of January, the runners-up in the world they will be received at the Elysée by President Emmanuel Macron, “who wants to thank and congratulate them”. The president traveled to Doha to witness the 2-1 victory in the semifinal against Morocco and was also in the defeat in the final after having anticipated that he would support the “Bleus” in person as he did in the definition of Russia 2018.