FACT OF THE DAY The victory of the French football team was celebrated in Garda

Last night, the French national team qualified for the finals of the World Cup after defeating Morocco 2:0. All over the Gard, Blues supporters lived the evening intensely from Nîmes via Beaucaire to Ales, reliving the evening in pictures.

Nîmes, great atmosphere in the bars

In Nîmes, Bar Joe, Victor Hugo, O’Flaherty’s, the bars in front of the Maison Carrée, people from all over gathered to watch the match. The Marseillaise was sung before and during the match, until the jubilation erupted at the final whistle.

In Ales, straight leg, security

While some in Ales choose to watch the match in one of the many bars on Boulevard Louis-Blanc and elsewhere, others prefer to watch it from the couch with friends. Pizza, beer and football, it’s a cliché, but the recipe always works. A few minutes before the start, everyone makes their prediction. Everyone sees the “blues” in the final without trembling. Only Cédric risks a virtual bet on Morocco’s victory. All too quickly, this saw his bet fly with a goal from Teo Hernandez in the 5th minute of the game.

Deschamps’ men play against the Lions of Atlas, who seem to have played the game before the clock. But Giroud and his family cannot escape by scoring this second goal that reached them. As half-time approaches, Hugo Lloris has more and more to do, even if Cédric and his friends are somewhat oblivious to the match going on in the background. The beginning of the second act begins on the same grounds with beautiful Moroccan intentions. Spirits are running high on the ground and the tone is evident between Giroud and the opposition defender. The argument wakes up the small group who have begun to doze off.

Although Kolo Muani has yet to take a break, Romain, the dean of the group, is lost in a muddy explanation of the offside rule at the request of interested girls. The yellow cardboard cups on the coffee table represent the French players, and the glass ones represent the Moroccan players. Despite his well-oiled little show, Romain wasn’t convinced of the women’s help. I’ll buy you Football for Dummies!, he tells Clemens. Well done! Christmas was approaching and the young man had no idea about his lifelong friend. The end of the match is not easy for Griezmann and his family, who fought like devils to hold off the last attacks of Regraguin’s brave men. The final whistle blows, releasing the six friends who are not overjoyed. On Sunday, it was decided, “We will see the final in the bar”, they begin in unison. It remains to choose which one!

Go to Boulevard Maréchal-Foch in Beaucaire

It’s all over for the Atlas Lions, who achieved a new feat against Portugal after Spain were knocked out in the round of 16. We still see tears rolling down Cristiano Ronaldo’s cheeks. So, yes, after all that Morocco was the first country on the African continent to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup.

However, they could not find points against France. Alya, 19, flew the Moroccan flag on Tuesday despite her heart torn between the two semi-finalist teams. “Anyway, we won, long live France, long live Morocco!“, he read.

Immediately after the final whistle, the first fireworks were first launched from the port of Beaucaire. Then there were more and more cars on the Boulevard Maréchal-Foch for minutes. “Although we suffered a little, it was a good match, the main victory“, comments 22-year-old David. Horns sounded on both sides of the boulevard as tricolor flags fluttered in the air.

There was a festive atmosphere. Despite everything, the police – about thirty civil servants were mobilized – had to intervene several times to calm the angry spirits of certain supporters of the two teams. At around 11:00 p.m., the situation was still tense, and additional personnel sent by the public security department of Buches-du-Rhône intervened as reinforcements. The next match is Sunday, December 18 for the final against Argentina.

In the videos

Yannick Pons, Corentin Miguel and Stephanie Marin