In the early morning of November 21, 2022, the 22nd FIFA World Cup officially kicked off with the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador. Teams from 32 countries and regions around the world will compete for the Hercules Cup in the most luxurious stadium in the world today.
As the champion of the last World Cup and the seeded team of this World Cup champion, the European giants France are undoubtedly in the spotlight, and they are the focus wherever they go. However, in the eyes of the majority of fans, this French men's football team in the spotlight is not dazzling. Of course, this is not because they have problems with their strength, but because their skin color is not very reflective.
According to statistics, in the 25-man squad of the French team participating in this World Cup, the number of black players reached 14, accounting for more than half. If you don't usually watch the ball, I guess I think it's an African team.
You must know that France is a native white European country, not only their flags are white, but their skin is also white. So under normal circumstances, the players of the French team should be mainly white, but the reality today is that blacks are the majority of the French team. Looking at the other European teams, although there are occasionally some black faces, the overall proportion is undoubtedly extremely low.
So many people don't understand, why only the French team can become so dark? On this issue, we have to start with the history of immigration in France.
France is an old European power, and its national strength has long been in the forefront of European countries, and it is a strong contender for continental hegemony. Even in the Napoleonic era, France once became the hegemon of Europe, fighting the great powers without the slightest temper. The reason why France has been so arrogant in history is that the demographic advantage is a big reason.
Until the 19th century, France had the largest population in Europe, and even Britain had to bow down. As for others, such as Germany and Italy, they were still a plate of loose sand, and they could not be compared with France. As we all know, population is the most basic component of a country, representing the source of labor and troops, and is the basis for economic and military development. Therefore, in the process of chasing deer in Europe, France, which has a demographic advantage, can naturally take the lead.
However, after entering the 19th century, France suffered from low fertility rates, coupled with perennial war consumption, and population growth bottlenecked. At the same time, however, the populations of other European powers are growing rapidly. Especially after the completion of unification, the population of Germany has surpassed that of France. So in the era when the industrial revolution swept through Europe, France had a serious shortage of workers, and industrial development had been lagging behind the British and German powers, and it was difficult to dominate Europe.
It is clear that if France wants to regain its former glory, it must first solve its own demographic problems. Generally speaking, the best way to increase the population is to encourage fertility and thus increase the birth rate. As long as more people have children, then the population will naturally rise. For France, which has an urgent population demand and is plagued by a low fertility rate, encouraging fertility at this time is undoubtedly far from being able to solve the fire. So France chose another approach - immigration. That is, by absorbing people from other countries to make up for the gap in their own labor.
So in the second half of the 19th century, France ushered in its first wave of immigration, with a population of more than one million. However, most of the French immigrants at that time came from neighboring countries, of which Belgians accounted for half. Because Belgium was in a period of rapid population growth at that time, the labor force was very abundant. And geographically, Belgium is adjacent to the industrial region of northern France, which is also convenient to come to. So at that time, immigrants in France were still mainly white, and black faces were relatively rare.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the French side had just digested the first wave of immigration and was about to roll up its sleeves, but it ran into the First World War. This war, which is known as the most tragic in human history, cost France a lot. Not only was the northern industrial area almost razed to the ground, but an entire generation of young men was also boarded.
So after the war, France desperately needed foreign laborers to rebuild the devastated country, ushering in a new wave of immigration. However, the main force of this wave of immigration is no longer the Belgians, but the Italians in the south. After the end of World War I, fascism began to rise in Italy, and many Italians chose to emigrate to France in order to escape political persecution. Italy has a population far larger than Belgium, so it quickly became the largest immigrant group in France.
Of course, this time with the Italians came the Poles. After the end of World War I, Poland completed its restoration with the help of France, and naturally regarded France as a backer. Therefore, Poland was very generous in helping France in its post-war reconstruction work, and imported a large amount of labor into France. In addition, with the sound of the October Revolution, many Polish nobles in the Tsarist era could not gain a foothold in Eastern Europe, and could only flee to Western Europe. And France, as the hegemon of the continent after World War I, has undoubtedly become the first choice for these immigrants.
After World War II, the same history played out again in France. Due to the needs of post-war reconstruction and subsequent economic construction, France continued to relax its immigration policy, and a large number of foreign immigrants began to pour into France, and a new round of immigration boom began again.
However, unlike in the past, the main force of this immigration is no longer Europeans, but overseas immigrants from the former colonies of France. For example, in the 70s of last century, because of the reunification of the north and the south, there was a wave of immigration to France. So in today's France, there are actually many yellow-skinned Vietnamese descendants.
Of course, Vietnamese account for only a small part of these overseas migrants, and the real main force is Africans.
France is Europe's oldest colonial power, with a colonial area of more than 12 million square kilometers at its peak, second only to the British Empire. Of France's colonies around the world, Africa undoubtedly accounted for the vast majority.
France has a deep historical connection with Africa, and they were one of the first colonists to come to the continent. As early as the 16th century, the French had landed in West Africa and gradually established their own colonial strongholds. By the 19th century, France was already the largest colonial power in Africa, and even Britain had to be afraid of three points.
At that time, France planned to connect Senegal in West Africa to East Africa, creating a French African empire that included Algeria, the Congo, and the Niger Delta. Although the French African empire was eventually destroyed by the obstruction of many great powers, they were still the most powerful power in Africa.
In 1884, the European countries carved up Africa at the Berlin Conference, and France took about one-third of Africa. In France's huge overseas colonial empire at that time, the African part accounted for more than 80%. Many African countries were once French colonies, such as Algeria in North Africa, Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa, Cameroon and Chad in the equatorial region, and so on.
Because these countries have long been under French colonial rule, they inevitably established close ties with France. Even though most of them have become independent after World War II, there is still a shadow of France behind them.
For example, in terms of culture, most of these countries are deeply influenced by French culture, everyone speaks French, writes French, and even the TV magazines they usually contact are from the French side. For example, in terms of economy, most of the economic lifelines of these countries are controlled by French capital, mines are French, ports are French, railways are French, and even the currency used in normal times must be linked to francs.
All in all, with the deep ties forged during the colonial era, France became one of the countries with the greatest influence on Africa. Isn't there a saying that Africa is chaotic or not, and France has the final say. It was this special relationship that created very favorable conditions for Africans to emigrate to France.
First of all, from the perspective of the African people, they must be very willing to immigrate to France. On the one hand, their long-term cultural assimilation made them naturally close to France. If nothing else, the advantage of language communication alone is enough to make France their first choice for immigrants.
On the other hand, the gap in economic level also makes them yearn for France. For them, immigrating to France is equivalent to going to the city to find a more comfortable life, which is a major event that can change the path of their lives. Many Africans spend their entire lives exhausting their means, even smuggling them just to be able to set foot on French soil.
Secondly, from the perspective of the French, they are also very willing to accept these African immigrants. Although they are very unsuitable for themselves on the outside, the degree of internal matching is quite high, even more suitable than many European countries. Because in the long colonial process, many Africans have been assimilated by France, and they have a sense of identity and even belonging to this country in their hearts, and are willing to contribute to France.
In short, they are generally the same as the French, except for the fact that their skin color is not very "French". Even in many cases, these black French from Africa are more French than the French, such as on the battlefield.
As we all know, the performance of the French army in the European theater during World War II was a disaster. In the face of the German attack in the Battle of France, the world's strongest army was unable to fight back. They didn't even fire a shot to give Paris to each other. So much so that in the end, it took only six weeks for the Germans to raise the white flag of France. Such a surrender speed, which can be called the speed of light, can be said to have lost Napoleon's face.
It is worth mentioning that although the French in Europe surrendered, the French overseas still insisted. In particular, the French Black Legion stationed overseas has always maintained a high fighting spirit. They represented France and fought alongside the Allies, from Cassino to Normandy to Paris, and we can see the heroic charging of French black soldiers in almost every battle in which the French army participated.
There is no doubt that France can obtain the status of victorious power after the war, and successfully join the five permanent members of the United Nations, and maintain its status as a world power, it is inseparable from the dedication of these black soldiers, who are fully worthy of the identity and nationality of France.
For all these reasons, the influx of African immigrants into France after the war has increased, and for nearly a hundred years, France has received the largest number of African immigrants in the world. As a result, blacks make up an increasing proportion of France's demographics.
According to relevant data, the current proportion of immigrants in France can reach about 15%. According to France's current population of about 67 million, the number of immigrants in France has exceeded 10 million. Among these immigrants, the majority are blacks of African descent.
As we all know, most blacks have excellent athletic talent, and have an innate physical advantage over some competitive sports such as football. Since France has a huge black group, it naturally will not waste such good resources, so it is reasonable for a large number of blacks to appear in the French team.
It is worth mentioning that the blackening process in France continues. Every year, a large number of black newborns are born, and there is also a large influx of black immigrants into France. They are constantly diluting the proportion of white French people while increasing their share. After such a long evolution, one day the Gallic rooster will become a Gallic "black chicken". Perhaps when the French colonized Africa, they never dreamed that they had occupied Africa with guns, but now Africans have occupied France with their wombs.
So to sum up, the serious blackening of the French team at the World Cup in Qatar is actually a microcosm of the French demographic structure today. I believe that it will not be long before the French team can completely discharge a set of black starting teams in the World Cup.