The defender of the Blues and Liverpool gave a long speech about the legislative elections, the first round of which takes place on Sunday. Without animosity, and drawing on his personal experience, he delivered his message.
Special envoy to Paderborn
When the question was asked, Ibrahima Konaté did not shy away. It’s not the type of house. If he spends the Euro in relative anonymity, overtaken in the hierarchy by William Saliba in central defense, the defender of the Blues occupied the political-media field this Saturday during his appearance at a press conference two days before the 8th of final against Belgium on Monday. Asked about the legislative elections, the first round of which is scheduled for Sunday, and the possible arrival of the National Rally in power, the native of Paris, whose parents are Malians, gave a unifying speech.
«Of course it worries me, what is happening in France worries mehe admits by way of introduction before launching into a long monologue, without any prompting from the journalists. We cannot leave power to certain people who are out to divide people. Diversity in France is our strength. I come from an immigrant family, when I hear everything that is said on social networks or on television channels, the media have a very important role and unfortunately sometimes they do not do it well because they play on fear. We must stop prejudices and stereotypes. We must be together in all circumstances. When I see my parents and the jobs they had… We cannot only talk about harmful things, it is true that there is always a minority who will cause harm to the majority. But when I see my parents who had difficult jobs as garbage collectors or cleaners, working impossible hours and we do not highlight these kinds of people who gave their health for France, it saddens me..»
“You can’t make a puzzle with the same pieces, you need different pieces to build something solid. I see this (press) room, there is magnificent diversity and everyone is happy, it’s a beautiful representation of France”
Ibrahima Konate
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Without any interruption, Ibrahima Konaté continues, devoid of animosity or any resentment, but with emotion. “Today, we talk a lot about immigration and Islam, these are the two subjects on which we talk a lot. It has to stop. I heard that we wanted to stop wearing the veil in public spaces, it saddens me to hear these things because it is never the people concerned who talk about this subject, if they (veiled women) have this freedom and what they think about it. France is a magnificent country… There are some who are at home, and who only get their information through the news channels, I can’t blame them because it is sometimes complicated to judge what is true or false. Some have had private experiences with certain people that have marked them for life. I can understand that. But you have to go and meet people, through appearances, skin colors, there are hearts. That is the most important thing. You can’t make a puzzle with the same pieces, you need different pieces to build something solid. I see this (press) room, there is a magnificent diversity and everyone is happy, it is a beautiful representation of France.»
Regarding the upcoming elections, Ibrahima Konaté does not give any voting instructions, unlike Kylian Mbappé or Marcus Thuram. But the substance of the speech is the same. “I encourage everyone to go and vote, it’s something personal, I’m not going to tell people what to do but we have to be together, in all circumstances, life is short, beautiful, we must not be in division, it will bring harm to everyone. I prefer that we spend good times all together and that we are not in division.»
