'Elitist' Cup leaves French cold

From Anne-Sophie Morel in Paris
August 21, 2007

NINE years after millions took to the streets of the capital to celebrate victory amid the euphoria of one of the most successful football World Cup tournaments, the rugby equivalent is failing to ignite similar enthusiasm among the French.

While the multi-ethnic population living in the shadow of Stade de France, which will host seven matches during the September 7 to October 20 tournament, could identify with the 1998 World Cup team, rugby is seen as an elitest sport which is the bastion of south-western France.

For those living in the Paris department of Seine-Saint-Denis, home to poor, largely immigrant communities with high levels of unemployment, the sentiment is that they will not receive any of the spin-off bonuses from an event which is foreign to them.

"Here we couldn't care less about rugby," said one 20-year-old. "Maybe in the city centre they are interested but here people have too many problems to worry about rugby. All that the Rugby World Cup is going to bring us is more cops."

The attitude is one which local authorities are having a hard time changing given that, by comparision with France 1998, they believe they have been sidelined from the first rugby World Cup outside an English-speaking nation.

"It's disgraceful that for activities around the stadium ... we have had to sort things out for ourselves, compared to the 1998 football World Cup where the Sports Ministry allocated us 150,000 euros ($252,000)," said Gilles Smadja, a Saint-Denis Town Hall official.

"For the World Cup to exist outside the stadium you need to create a popular event, accessible to everyone."

While the north-eastern suburbs could identify with the team of France 1998, it's not the case with the national rugby team which includes just three black players - Serge Betsen, Thierry Dusautoir and Yannick Nyanga.

"Young people don't come naturally to rugby, above all here in Seine-Saint-Denis. You have to go and look for them," said Olivier Astier, directer general of third division club AC Bobigny.

"Seine-Saint-Denis is the biggest producer of footballers. There is also a real culture of boxing and athletics. Rugby doesn't feature."

But Astier is confident that with a little help this will change.

"Until now rugby was 100 per cent people from the south. Today there are more and more players from the Paris region and the numbers of registered club players could be multiplied by 10," he said.

But despite hopes that the tournament will boost interest in the sport and for the struggling economy, experts remain divided on the impact it will have in the nine host cities.

The 1998 World Cup was credited with boosting consumer spending for the host country with the principle beneficiaries being hotels, restaurants, and sales of World Cup-related sporting products.

This time no stadia had to be built, and organisers have calculated the economic spin-off at 8 billion euros ($13.5 billion) over four years, of which half this year.

More than 1.23 million spectators - of which 350,000 from abroad - will attend at least one match and they will spend around 1.5 billion euros ($2.5 billion).

While less than the two million foreign visitors for Germany 2006, rugby fans spend more, opting for three and four star hotels.

But "the lure of the oval ball remains very far behind the round ball and the impact this time should be marginal", predicts Alexander Law, an economics analyst.

Many feel the economic impact will largely depend on the performance of the French team.

"If France doesn't win, the effect on growth will be minimum," said Julien Bernard from the sports marketing group Essec. Those involved in tourism are counting on fans to prolong their stay for several weeks.

"Visitors from the southern hemisphere, like Australians or New Zealanders, will stay on average three weeks which will boost the tourist sector," said Thierry Baudier, director of Maison de La France.

Some fans have spent nearly 9260 euros ($15, 2600) on the 17-day "Wine and Champagne" tour organised by Wallaby Travel.

Meanwhile, hotel reservation centre Mondiresa has promised that rises will not be more than 25 per cent.

But Bertrand Lecourt, president of the Union of Paris Hotel Operators, hopes that the fans "won't chase away our regular clients, businessmen, like in 1998".

Agence France-Presse