New discussion with Paris Saint-Germain in France. And this time it’s not their galactic oversized ego, privileges. Private jet trips by the footballers of the Parisian team to cities relatively close to Paris caused heated debates in the neighboring country. It started as a result of a visit to the field on Saturday. NantesLocated about 380 kilometers west of the capital, it is a distance that can be covered in just two hours by high-speed train. The French Parliament passed a law last year banning domestic flights as long as there is less than two and a half hours of alternative rail, but that does not apply to private planes.

How could it be otherwise, in the Holy Land the controversy arose out of anger: social networks. Typical images of Neymar, Marquinhos or Verratti joking on the plane, seemingly banal, wave of criticism from netizens condemns them for the climatic and energetic absurdity of this displacement. Not only did they do this by plane instead of the much less polluting train, the club’s bus traveled empty-handed from Paris to pick them up from the airport in Nantes.

“We will go by sailing vehicle”

Alan Krakovitch, one of the directors of rail company SNCF, tweeted on Sunday. PSG is advised to use the high speed train: “Safety, speed, services and sustainable mobility: “I am renewing my proposal for a specific TGV offer tailored to your needs and our common interests”. It would probably be all in a discussion about the little bird’s web, if not for the statements by coach Christophe Galtier on Monday afternoon that he was adding fuel to the fire. would stay longer.

“I spoke to the company organizing the trips this morning. Let’s consider the possibility sailing. We only need nine hours with a well-directed wind,” the PSG coach replied sarcastically after being asked about this at the press conference before their Champions League debut against Juventus. While making these statements, Kylian Mbappé, sitting next to him, laughed out loud for his coach’s humorous comment.

These images did not please the French public and their leaders. “They reaction (from Galtier and Mbappe) Not enough to draw It’s about a problem like climate change”, criticized Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition on Tuesday. “I sincerely invite PSG to take this issue very seriously, because the French will not realize that they consider themselves superior to others on climate change and that they are not involved in a concerted effort.” “It is important for them to be aware of the world we live in”, for his part, assured Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. Even Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera spoke on the phone with PSG leaders about this.

Private plane ban debate in France

Although the actions of football stars are not something to be taken lightly and met with demagoguery, the discomfort of their privileges and the feeling of being locked up is understandable, since not only their comfort but also their safety is at stake. in their ivory towers, unaware of the current problems. Other teams have already sparked such controversy, for example real Madrid Less than 20 minutes to fly to Valladolid or a 10 minute flight from Manchester United to play Leicester. Lionel Messi himself has drawn criticism for his performance this summer. 52 private plane trips from June to August.

In the case of France, this discussion follows a heated public debate over private jets over the summer. The united coalition of the left (NUPES) held a meeting in August. Draft law banning flights on private planes. First, the Government of Emmanuel Macron said it intended to regulate this sector, but later branded the issue as “demagogic”. A position that does not appease criticism of a mode of transport that symbolizes the impact on climate change of the richest, which tends to emit much more CO2 than the middle and working classes. And among these elites lifestyles against the climate emergency There are football stars too.