Game Thread: Wemby vs Loonies Toonies (Canada) @ 2:00 PM CT

[NASpurs]

Live stream (?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbqOw3NjkXM

[ace3g]

https://x.com/CanBball/status/1814370832375767253

[Degoat]

Fingers crossed Dillon brooks doesn’t embarrass wemby

[NASpurs]

Wemby with 2 fouls in 45 seconds :lol

GG

[baseline bum]

Well so much for watching this bullshit for a while

[LeBowen]

Fingers crossed Dillon brooks doesn’t embarrass wemby

My only concern is Olynyk injuring him.

[drpill]

NBA/Youtube feed is blocked in Canada -- anyone know of another source?

[Degoat]

France and that coach really might be one the dumbest teams in the world tbh lol the hoops collective talked about it a little bit.

this France team should have played and even started that Nolan Traore along with Risacher

[MultiTroll]

Wemby with 2 fouls in 45 seconds :lol

GG
Legit calls?

[MultiTroll]

Wama continues to show his excellent passing skills.
One of the best in the NBA.
Easily the best on the Spurs.

I hope Clitter Paul doesn't try control freaking Wamas passing. :rolleyes

[spurraider21]

Legit calls?
first one definitley was. he bopped shai in the head when he already had shai trapped with his dribble stopped. wemby was mad at himself

second one looked like he reached to help when somebody else was driving. i didnt quite catch a replay but it didnt seem like he complained too much

[drpill]

For anyone in Canada, the game is being broadcast on CBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhS1hLI890

[MultiTroll]

Wama strokes the contested three. :toast:clap

[MultiTroll]

Wama look a little bit bigger / stronger to you too?

[Degoat]

This France teams blows so hard

[MultiTroll]

I don't like the ball hog Jordan fadeway but damn, Wemby hit it. :lol

[Degoat]

And these Refs!!! Holy shit, are these NBA refs? Lol they’re suppose to let them play defense in fiba

[LeBowen]

We'll say he called glass on that one. ;)

[MultiTroll]

Like how Wama is using his off arm more aggressively to ward off defenders.

[td4mvp2k]

wemby needs to push back at brooks

[MultiTroll]

This France teams blows so hard
Whatchu talking about Willis.
SGA
Nemblard
RJ Barret
Brooks

Another NBA starter or two i think.

They don't have the bigs.

[Chinook]

Is this another example of how Turkey's B team isn't actually a good analog for NBA defenses?

[spurraider21]

looks like simply getting a tan didnt actually make wemby a lot stronger and more physical

if his best answer to being guarded by shorter stocky guys like dillon brooks is still going to be to just shoot long contested jumpers over them... he's going to need to reach KP/Dirk levels of shooting efficiency to justify that

[Degoat]

It’s insane that teams get offense rebounds with wemby and Gobert in the court

[ace3g]

Canada can't convert a 3 on 1 fastbreak because the players didn't stagger down the court....

[TD 21]

I'm late to the party and I realize it's an exhibition, but unless either or both of Gobert and Wembanyama is in foul trouble, :lmao at Collet for having the best defensive anchor duo since Robinson and Duncan and not having at least one play every non blowout second.

[LeBowen]

France won't get very far without some home cooking help from refs.
Awful lack of playmaking.

[Ice009]

France's BBall team is TERRIBLE. Why did Victor waste his time coming here?

[Limguogolo]

I still don't understand the logic and style of play of this team. The average IQ of the entire team must be around 60, you don't set up game systems as if basketball were a game of chess. You play on basics. Otherwise, if in a system going from a to z, you can't get past point a against a defense that won't let you set up your damn telegraphed system, your system boils down to "oh, I still have 3 seconds to shoot, I'm already lucky to have gotten this far into possession, but what do I do with the ball? They annoy me on defense, mom!"

And whether in attack or defense, it all starts with the guards. If you have a physical deficit in the guard positions, your bigs will never see the ball except on defense to recover the ball under the basket... Exactly the same observation as last year. Victor or not, he can't play guard in a FIBA ​​game or against a team with an athletic advantage like Canada on the guard posts. It's so ugly to see all these panicked players playing chess with their big boxing gloves.

Collet: “Why can’t they follow the Newtonian system that I put in place for them? I don’t understand.” Just run and shoot...

[emanueldavidginobili]

That was the first France game I’ve seen out of these exhibition games. Thought for sure they would be much better, their guard play is god awful. Their offense has no action at all either, stagnant as hell.

[Robz4000]

Wemby get sonned by Dillon Brooks again?

[024]

Wemby not getting any quality shots. Partly due to the terrible guards and play making France has and him settling for off the dribble turnarounds or step backs. His handle is still too much of a wild card to consistently create anything.

[exstatic]

Wemby not getting any quality shots. Partly due to the terrible guards and play making France has and him settling for off the dribble turnarounds or step backs. His handle is still too much of a wild card to consistently create anything.

He’s not being allowed to create. They’re making him depend on feeds from the guards, and they’re awful.

[RC_Drunkford]

They didn‘t run one inverted pick & roll

[Uriel]

That was the first France game I’ve seen out of these exhibition games. Thought for sure they would be much better, their guard play is god awful. Their offense has no action at all either, stagnant as hell.

Wemby not getting any quality shots. Partly due to the terrible guards and play making France has and him settling for off the dribble turnarounds or step backs. His handle is still too much of a wild card to consistently create anything.
Reminds me of a certain basketball team in the south of Texas.

[exstatic]

Reminds me of a certain basketball team in the south of Texas.

Spurs at least let him create, even if our guards struggled to get him the ball.

[MultiTroll]

Did this game have any standings / seeding meaning whatsoever?

If not I'm fine with Wemby honing his skills with the scrub French guards.

[JPB]

I still don't understand the logic and style of play of this team. The average IQ of the entire team must be around 60, you don't set up game systems as if basketball were a game of chess. You play on basics. Otherwise, if in a system going from a to z, you can't get past point a against a defense that won't let you set up your damn telegraphed system, your system boils down to "oh, I still have 3 seconds to shoot, I'm already lucky to have gotten this far into possession, but what do I do with the ball? They annoy me on defense, mom!"

And whether in attack or defense, it all starts with the guards. If you have a physical deficit in the guard positions, your bigs will never see the ball except on defense to recover the ball under the basket... Exactly the same observation as last year. Victor or not, he can't play guard in a FIBA ​​game or against a team with an athletic advantage like Canada on the guard posts. It's so ugly to see all these panicked players playing chess with their big boxing gloves.

Collet: “Why can’t they follow the Newtonian system that I put in place for them? I don’t understand.” Just run and shoot...

While I agree french backcourt is limited (I would have given Nolan a shot tbh at that point), and whatever one might think about Collet, he's an experienced coach.

And just like Pop back in the days, he knows showing your cards in those meaningless games doesn't make sense, specially in an era where you have a bunch of analysts and vidoes guys dissecting opponents game. Not presuming anything about this french team in the Olympics but you can at least be sure the systems and style of play you'll see in the real competition will be different. Those friendly games are just to warm up and get used to each others.

[Pauleta14]

I'm late to the party and I realize it's an exhibition, but unless either or both of Gobert and Wembanyama is in foul trouble, :lmao at Collet for having the best defensive anchor duo since Robinson and Duncan and not having at least one play every non blowout second.

Who's Gobert is your comp?

None were as bad on offense and a liability as Gobert is.

No idea why some act as if he's a strength when he's Fance's main weakness! (with their coach obvioulsly).

The coaching is insane as is the players selection. Guys like Albicy aren't even Gleague level

Don't expect any improvement offensively speaking, with Collet it'll ALWAYS depends on individual talents

Only shot Fance has to be decent (forget a result) is on D

[Pauleta14]

Spurs at least let him create, even if our guards struggled to get him the ball.

Yep

I really wished it was a chess move by Collet in case we meet Canada again but the dude is so incompetent I'm afraid it was his plan to put Vic in the corner most of the time on offense...

2 silver linings, first selfishly as a french this might FINALLY expose Collet so we could finally move on from this muppet and 2nd Victor will be back in SA sooner than expected to prepare for what eally matters

[Pauleta14]

I still don't understand the logic and style of play of this team. The average IQ of the entire team must be around 60, you don't set up game systems as if basketball were a game of chess. You play on basics. Otherwise, if in a system going from a to z, you can't get past point a against a defense that won't let you set up your damn telegraphed system, your system boils down to "oh, I still have 3 seconds to shoot, I'm already lucky to have gotten this far into possession, but what do I do with the ball? They annoy me on defense, mom!"

And whether in attack or defense, it all starts with the guards. If you have a physical deficit in the guard positions, your bigs will never see the ball except on defense to recover the ball under the basket... Exactly the same observation as last year. Victor or not, he can't play guard in a FIBA ​​game or against a team with an athletic advantage like Canada on the guard posts. It's so ugly to see all these panicked players playing chess with their big boxing gloves.

Collet: “Why can’t they follow the Newtonian system that I put in place for them? I don’t understand.” Just run and shoot...

Just lower ur expectations bro...

Between the weakness of the roster and the coaches there's nothing to expect.

My only hope/expectation is for Vic not to injured himself tbh. Can't wait for the NBA to start soon enough

[rascal]

Wemby must be thinking he's back playing with the Spurs.

[spursparker9]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBy9vomgcb8

[Ice009]

Just lower ur expectations bro...

Between the weakness of the roster and the coaches there's nothing to expect.

My only hope/expectation is for Vic not to injured himself tbh. Can't wait for the NBA to start soon enough

Well, I hope that too, but I also had higher expectation for France. I was thinking Silver or Bronze medal at worst, but now I'm not sure. I think their pool looks like the weakest, so they should get to the quarter finals (not sure how it works after the pool games, though, and who plays who).

Anyway, I wanted France to do well as they're playing at home and also to boost Victor's confidence even higher, and not only that, but I thought if France did well and Victor did well, that might draw more players to want to play with Victor in the NBA. Apart from that, it was always Argentina and France I used to go for due to Manu & TP (I actually loved seeing Boris play for them even before he was on the Spurs as he was a great player, then when he got on the Spurs, I liked him even more, but it was watching some of the games he played for France that made me become a fan of his. It opened my eyes to how good he was. I even thought to myself, darn, he's a better overall player than Tony, but I didn't ever say that as TP was a Spurs player and Boris wasn't, so I didn't want to acknowledge it), and of course Australia, but AU weren't a realistic shot at silver or bronze most of those years apart from last Olympics. I used to hate Spain, though, due to them always being in the way of Argentina early on and then France later on, but they really did have some great players and teams.

[CGD]

Many of Vic’s shots look unnecessarily difficult, which was also the case this past season in SA. I get the teammate bit, but I also think the player has to develop more and build strength.

[SpursDynasty85]

Many of Vic’s shots look unnecessarily difficult, which was also the case this past season in SA. I get the teammate bit, but I also think the player has to develop more and build strength. Yep. Almost every game last season all his production was in crazy spurts and happened in a flash. He usually starts the game really slow too. He is still learning to play.

[Limguogolo]

While I agree french backcourt is limited (I would have given Nolan a shot tbh at that point), and whatever one might think about Collet, he's an experienced coach.

And just like Pop back in the days, he knows showing your cards in those meaningless games doesn't make sense, specially in an era where you have a bunch of analysts and vidoes guys dissecting opponents game. Not presuming anything about this french team in the Olympics but you can at least be sure the systems and style of play you'll see in the real competition will be different. Those friendly games are just to warm up and get used to each others.
In ordinary times, I would agree that we hide our game before a competition. Except that for the French team, no system has ever solved anything. It's even specific to all French teams in many sports. It’s part of French Flair. Sometimes for the better, often for the worse. Just like what the French expect in politics, it is always a providential man (or a Joan of Arc) who allows them to win. The French spirit is not at all geared towards tactics, rigor or consistency. The French mind only knows the flashes of brilliance, the “panache”.

In football, whatever the talent of the players, the French teams have never given anything without the presence of a player who stands out from the crowd. This was the case with Platini, then Zidane, then with the young Mbappé. In basketball, it's the same story, with even more difficulties. TP was so superior to his teammates, especially in his very "American" spirit of wanting to take responsibility for the game in the face of a very French mentality of "passing dishes", that he unbalanced the team's attack and was easy to defend. The defenses in FIBA ​​are much tougher than in the NBA. Canadian players have this dual culture.

Nothing says that Victor could not be this “providential man” for the French team, but this year, given the quality of the opposition proposed at the Olympic Games, this remains more uncertain than ever and left to hypothetical blows of brilliance. France will never win thanks to tactics, coaches, or systems. The team can lose, however, by denying certain principles of play which would make them play unnaturally. And its nature is not to try to play basketball that it does not master. There is a certain feeling of inferiority in the French game when faced with supposedly technically superior teams and with more intelligent players: the Spaniards, the Greeks and players from the former Yugoslavia. For years, FNT have tried to imitate them, but we do not play against nature. Yes, some tactics can be helpful. But that's not how France will win. It's by playing on simple principles: not making mistakes when defending, running and taking advantage of a physical advantage when it exists, limiting ball turnovers by avoiding forced passes and not refusing open shots (great specialty French, à la Boris).

The French team has never been so good inside. Gobert does stupid things but he is a dissuasive. Gershon and Lessort are two of the best interior players in Europe. Victor is Victor. But the guards must be able to put them in good conditions: know how to defend, bring the ball up, and possibly represent a threat offensively. This is still not a question of tactics. Collet kept two old people incapable of fitting into this framework (De Colo, Fournier). The other players are dish passers.

I don't believe at all that Traoré would have been useful to the team. Too much uncertainty about his level of play, about his ability to adapt to a level never before encountered. Hifi and Francisco would have been more useful in this context, or even Hayes. Hifi and Francisco had this French Flair capable of leading an attack with brilliant shots to assist Victor. And contrary to what Collet claims, they are excellent defenders despite their small size. We will see if Strazel can assume this responsibility, but Collet tends to never trust the young players in whom he has started to give his trust. I can bet that in the event of problems, Collet will put Albicy and Fournier on the floor. It's not a question of tactics, it's a question of trust and politics. These are his guys. Francisco missed an important shot last year. Instead of congratulating him for taking the shot, the mentality was more to blame him for not letting Fournier take the shot. Same thing with Okobo. Still not a question of tactics or systems, but of politics. You will always have guars struggling to find their shot, that's the French team. The difference will be who gets to have those shots or not. Victor will have all the difficult shots, Bilal will have this shots despite his low % and his suspicious selection of shots, Fournier, De Colo, Batum. It’s selective French Flair. I still don't call it tactics.

[TD 21]

Who's Gobert is your comp?

None were as bad on offense and a liability as Gobert is.

No idea why some act as if he's a strength when he's Fance's main weakness! (with their coach obvioulsly).

The coaching is insane as is the players selection. Guys like Albicy aren't even Gleague level

Don't expect any improvement offensively speaking, with Collet it'll ALWAYS depends on individual talents

Only shot Fance has to be decent (forget a result) is on D

Gobert's offensive limitations don't take away the facts that he's the second highest impact player on the roster, an elite defensive anchor and having two of them is a luxury and the strength of their roster.

[couchman]

Wemby is both showing the tremendous ability that will soon make him one of the top players in the world while also showing that he’s inconsistent and nowhere near a finished product.
Wemby needs a creator guard to set up the offense so that he can be an elite finisher.
This is the hope and promise of CP3, and maybe Castle or someone else in the future.

[Pauleta14]

Well, I hope that too, but I also had higher expectation for France. I was thinking Silver or Bronze medal at worst, but now I'm not sure. I think their pool looks like the weakest, so they should get to the quarter finals (not sure how it works after the pool games, though, and who plays who).

Anyway, I wanted France to do well as they're playing at home and also to boost Victor's confidence even higher, and not only that, but I thought if France did well and Victor did well, that might draw more players to want to play with Victor in the NBA. Apart from that, it was always Argentina and France I used to go for due to Manu & TP (I actually loved seeing Boris play for them even before he was on the Spurs as he was a great player, then when he got on the Spurs, I liked him even more, but it was watching some of the games he played for France that made me become a fan of his. It opened my eyes to how good he was. I even thought to myself, darn, he's a better overall player than Tony, but I didn't ever say that as TP was a Spurs player and Boris wasn't, so I didn't want to acknowledge it), and of course Australia, but AU weren't a realistic shot at silver or bronze most of those years apart from last Olympics. I used to hate Spain, though, due to them always being in the way of Argentina early on and then France later on, but they really did have some great players and teams.

The pb starts at the top of the pyramid. We lack elite coaching that brings and sustains elite culture.

France depends too much on individualities and is between 2 generations, with Batum Fournier De Colo ... on their last legs and Wemby Bilal and the youngsters coming in the NBA

In between it's less than average talent wise then add some stupid politics that prevent quality players from being called

Wemby brings doubts because he's a cheat code, Batum will help a lot as usual but really France has a very bad team and a HORRIBLE coaching (tough to have to win despite ur coach)

Also Gobert is a massive handicap

[Pauleta14]

Gobert's offensive limitations don't take away the facts that he's the second highest impact player on the roster, an elite defensive anchor and having two of them is a luxury and the strength of their roster.

It's the same narrative than with Sochan's defensive impact, it's all about balance with the liability he is on offense

Good coaches know the weak link and force the ball to him on offense, he has zero touch and can only dunk, leading to tons of wasted gimmies

[TD 21]

It's the same narrative than with Sochan's defensive impact, it's all about balance with the liability he is on offense

Good coaches know the weak link and force the ball to him on offense, he has zero touch and can only dunk, leading to tons of wasted gimmies

Except there's eons of statistical evidence (not to mention the eye test) that supports Gobert being one of the GOAT defensive anchors. Sochan is a different type of defender, with nowhere near the impact or track record.

I keep hearing politics and French basketball. Is that just code for they want more full white players or?

[KingKev]

This game thread title alienates me as a die hard Spurs fan who supported our team before the Raptors existed. Please remove while I mourn Biden’s candidacy and worry about his covid status.

[Pauleta14]

Except there's eons of statistical evidence (not to mention the eye test) that supports Gobert being one of the GOAT defensive anchors. Sochan is a different type of defender, with nowhere near the impact or track record.

I keep hearing politics and French basketball. Is that just code for they want more full white players or?

That's great but it's 50% of the game

That's the thing, you get "trapped" by his defensive impact that obliges you to put him on the floor, but then he can often cost u more with is offensive liability.

Any decent coach will take advantage of it

If you'e watching today vs Aussies, he's got gloves instead of hands and waste so many possessions it's surreal

[TD 21]

That's great but it's 50% of the game

That's the thing, you get "trapped" by his defensive impact that obliges you to put him on the floor, but then he can often cost u more with is offensive liability.

Any decent coach will take advantage of it

If you'e watching today vs Aussies, he's got gloves instead of hands and waste so many possessions it's surreal

Not for a C, it isn't. He's also higher impact offensively (elite screen setter and gravity as a roll man/vertical spacer, which opens up weakside 3's) than he appears because of his rudimentary ball skills (biggest issue is teams can switch with impunity because he often can't even punish small guards in the post).

Not staggering two elite rim protectors is inarguably stupid.

Anyway, why'd you evade the French basketball and politics (which you brought up) question?

[Pauleta14]

Not for a C, it isn't. He's also higher impact offensively (elite screen setter and gravity as a roll man/vertical spacer, which opens up weakside 3's) than he appears because of his rudimentary ball skills (biggest issue is teams can switch with impunity because he often can't even punish small guards in the post).

Not staggering two elite rim protectors is inarguably stupid.

Anyway, why'd you evade the French basketball and politics (which you brought up) question?

My bad, didn't answer the 2nd part.

No not at all, nothing race related at all. French ppl aren't racist, France is just a country where networking matters a lot more than pure merit.

It leads to a lot of confusion correlations/causations.

When some of us mention "politics" it means that merit isn't alwasy the main criteria in Frence's players selections (the same happens in football and other sports)

Collet is the perfect example of so many people without any accountability and a job for life whatever he does. He's shown again and again that he sucks at both basketball and man to man coaching, has never coached at the highest level in club level and is a massive handicap the team has to carry.

As for Gobert I don't totally disagree with your points but we'll have to disagree on the player. I like the guy, even defend him a lot vs the insane bias againt him but I'd hate if he played for the Spurs, unless he was a role player.
He's too much of a handicap as a main guy imo

[Limguogolo]

To illustrate the question of the deleterious weight of politics in sport or society, two examples.

Last year, the French women's team played without its best player (the only one to have played a WNBA final) because she had to go sign a contract in New York two days before the start of the preparation (this was seen as a sign of disrespect towards the French team). (This year, they didn't include the greatest player in history because... she criticized the management last year.)


Last example, in real politics this time. The political situation in France is worse than in the USA (yes, it's possible). The president plays with the institutions, breaks the assembly to hope to put the fascists in power and leaves a week for the opposition to organize (one day for voters to register). The opposition is getting organized. There are two rounds in France. In the first round, the fascists came well ahead. To avoid winning the assembly, left-wing voters agreed to vote for right-wing representatives. The latter were elected instead of the fascist ones. Once elected, these same elected representatives explain that the left-wing is anti-Republican (explaining among other things that they are anti-Semitic -- they are in fact denouncing the genocide in Gaza -- while on their right there is a party created by Nazis -- therefore intrinsically and originally anti-Semitic). A few days later, this righ-win elected thanks to left-wing voters explained that it was not normal that the fascists did not have important positions in the assembly. Meanwhile, in the second round, the mobilization of voters and the left enabled the defeat of the fascists. But no one has won yet. Despite this, one of the leaders on the left claims that they have won. And it's been several weeks now that they haven't agreed on a prime minister and the president looks at them laughing: he hasn't succeeded in putting the fascists in power, but he sees clearly that the left-wing gives a pitiful spectacle. And today ? Not only did no one win, but France is ungovernable a few days before the Olympics. with a situation where it is the constitution which poses a problem because it did not foresee the situation in which the country finds itself. But it's not just a constitutional question: if France collapses just before the Olympics, it's because of a president (elected so that the fascists don't come to power, already), who plays typically like a French basketball player attempting a shot from midcourt on a final possession in order to avoid giving the ball to best player of the team in the paint. Everyone hates him, including his own camp, so it's not about relationships with him, but about abuse of power and childish play with institutions. Politics, in this way.


Everything is politics in France, sensitive and relationnal. When we say that, it is to say that particular interests always come before the general interest. This is often the case elsewhere, but in France, the proportions are gigantic. It is the country of revolution and privilege. We hate it when some people take advantage of a situation to assert their personal interests. In the world of work, it is even valued and institutionalized, we speak of "network" to talk about the quality of one's social network in order to work and access good positions. The people in charge only have “merit” on their lips when they play a completely different game and fight to maintain their privileges. In all sectors of society it is palpable. In political life, as in the federal institutions of a sport, and this is reflected even in the constitution of a national sports team.

Cooptation and plutocracy, this is how French society works. (Also, when you're French, the main sport is to criticize everything. That's precisely what we do here.)

[exstatic]

To illustrate the question of the deleterious weight of politics in sport or society, two examples.

Last year, the French women's team played without its best player (the only one to have played a WNBA final) because she had to go sign a contract in New York two days before the start of the preparation (this was seen as a sign of disrespect towards the French team). (This year, they didn't include the greatest player in history because... she criticized the management last year.)


Last example, in real politics this time. The political situation in France is worse than in the USA (yes, it's possible). The president plays with the institutions, breaks the assembly to hope to put the fascists in power and leaves a week for the opposition to organize (one day for voters to register). The opposition is getting organized. There are two rounds in France. In the first round, the fascists came well ahead. To avoid winning the assembly, left-wing voters agreed to vote for right-wing representatives. The latter were elected instead of the fascist ones. Once elected, these same elected representatives explain that the left-wing is anti-Republican (explaining among other things that they are anti-Semitic -- they are in fact denouncing the genocide in Gaza -- while on their right there is a party created by Nazis -- therefore intrinsically and originally anti-Semitic). A few days later, this righ-win elected thanks to left-wing voters explained that it was not normal that the fascists did not have important positions in the assembly. Meanwhile, in the second round, the mobilization of voters and the left enabled the defeat of the fascists. But no one has won yet. Despite this, one of the leaders on the left claims that they have won. And it's been several weeks now that they haven't agreed on a prime minister and the president looks at them laughing: he hasn't succeeded in putting the fascists in power, but he sees clearly that the left-wing gives a pitiful spectacle. And today ? Not only did no one win, but France is ungovernable a few days before the Olympics. with a situation where it is the constitution which poses a problem because it did not foresee the situation in which the country finds itself. But it's not just a constitutional question: if France collapses just before the Olympics, it's because of a president (elected so that the fascists don't come to power, already), who plays typically like a French basketball player attempting a shot from midcourt on a final possession in order to avoid giving the ball to best player of the team in the paint. Everyone hates him, including his own camp, so it's not about relationships with him, but about abuse of power and childish play with institutions. Politics, in this way.


Everything is politics in France, sensitive and relationnal. When we say that, it is to say that particular interests always come before the general interest. This is often the case elsewhere, but in France, the proportions are gigantic. It is the country of revolution and privilege. We hate it when some people take advantage of a situation to assert their personal interests. In the world of work, it is even valued and institutionalized, we speak of "network" to talk about the quality of one's social network in order to work and access good positions. The people in charge only have “merit” on their lips when they play a completely different game and fight to maintain their privileges. In all sectors of society it is palpable. In political life, as in the federal institutions of a sport, and this is reflected even in the constitution of a national sports team.

Cooptation and plutocracy, this is how French society works. (Also, when you're French, the main sport is to criticize everything. That's precisely what we do here.)

ST, in a nut shell.