We just have an incredible defeat to which fault

"History repeats itself twice, first as tragedy, a second time as farce", said Karl Marx. Its formula is useful to take a little distance from the massive movement of self-flagellation which engages our country today. But, if a back and a good dose of humour are essential qualities, they are not sufficient if one wants to understand the collective emotions across our country. So forget any retreat and play the game of reasoning by analogy.

If one accepts that football has become the "war by striking out" of our societies at the time of globalization, what are the references necessary To understand the elimination without glory of the France team, must he read Edward Gibbon "The Grandeur and decadence of the Roman Empire" or "The strange defeat" of Marc Bloch

My preference is clearly to Marc Bloch, even if it is tempting to compare players these legions of mercenaries who have lost all the individual and collective qualities that made the magnitude of the nascent or top-Empire Roman Republic and the President of the French Federation of football to a powerless Emperor and decadent Roman Bas-Empire, Raymond Domenech to an incompetent General. But such a reading for attractive that it could be would be probably next most, i.e. the "technical" and not only moral dimension of the humiliation that we live.

"We just have an incredible defeat, to which fault." Marc Bloch the indictment against the French staff in 1940 is the best of introductions to understand the "national tragedy" that lives our country since the elimination without glory of his team in the world. While the title of the book of Marc Bloch, defeat has been anything but strange. Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of health and Sports, did not speak of a "Chronicle of an announced disaster"

Prior to the defeat of the players on the field, the Elimination of the France team is first and foremost a system, that of an outdated and conservative strategy, a branch of football also sclerotic that could be the French staff in 1940. That of Gamelin as head of our football! Players from Latin America seem to practise an another football than ours. Their natural enthusiasm is indeed multiplied by superior technical and strategic reflection of their coaches. Only of Guderian at the head of countries that do not have the resources of the France!

Prior to denounce the spirit of clan of small traffickers perverted by money, uncultivated, poorly high and missing completely of dignity, the question is how these players have come here. Their defeat is technical be moral, even if it has an ethical dimension. In 1940 also divisions of the French society, as they appear in the masterpiece of Jean Renoir "The rule of the game" helped explain the collapse of the country on itself. But, despite what might happen in the dressing rooms of the France team, it would be dangerous to substitute for the divisions essentially social and ideological yesterday, ethnic divisions if not race today, or in a speech populist simply denounce drift elitist and immature "gifted children" of the France team.

While the temptation to see in football a mirror of the French company is irresistible. According to this schema, a depressed country could produce a depressed team. A divided country could produce a fragmented team. We must all simplistic. At the illusion, perhaps, of the France multicolor and multi-ethnic born of the triumph of 1998 do not substitute our fears or our fantasies of now amplified by the defeat of 2010. It would be a likely simplistic view of all the excesses and all political operations. The defeat is primarily attributable to elites ossified, unable to challenge their strategic and tactical options. Prior to denounce the failure of the model for the integration of the French company, bringing in French football leaders worthy of this name.