200 former athletes and former professional sportsmen have, by way of a manifesto, called for a vote by the National Union of Marine Le Pen against the ultra-right party in the forthcoming elections, in which Macron advanced the elections on the night of the European elections. The first round will take place on 30 June and the second on 7 July.
The manifesto published by the sports newspaper L'Ëquipe on Sunday clearly shows the call to vote against the extreme right, unlike footballer Kylian Mbappé last Sunday, who encouraged young people to vote because the "extreme" political forces are at the gates of power. For example, coming from the next neighborhood, many understood that it was a call against the far-right, even if it was not specified.
200 athletes claimed in the manifesto: "History shows that the far-right side is in deep opposition and does not want to build a democratic, tolerant and dignified society." Likewise, and in a friendly way, they understand the rise of the far-right: "We are aware that more and more people have problems reaching the end of the month, that inequalities are increasing, lack of commitment, insecurity, fear of the future... But as a sports professional, we can't allow the far-right to come to government."
Tsonga, Noah, Bartoli, Perec
Many famous athletes have signed the manfest – it is almost 200, here you can see the full list. However, most are still not professional or not as before. Many football players, such as Mbapper, have only spoken words and instead of putting the far-right into the spotlight, they have called to vote. They have not signed the manifesto.