LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The President of France Emmanuel Macron has rallied behind Kylian Mbappe following recent racist remarks towards the French captain by a Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla after France 1-0 victory over La Albiroja in the FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16, Voice of Naija – VONa Communications reports.
President Macron put out a statement on his official X account praising Mbappe’s response.
“Another goal for Kylian Mbappé. Against racism this time. All my support.
‘When words defile, our values respond: dignity, respect, fraternity.
“@KMbappe,” President Macron wrote.
The President of France Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Cédric Perrin also sent a letter to the Senate of Paraguay following the racist remarks.
“As President of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, I sent a letter to the President of the Senate of Paraguay following the racist remarks made by Senator Celeste Amarilla against Kylian Mbappe.
“The ties of friendship between France and #Paraguay are longstanding and precious.
“It is in the name of this relationship of trust that I expressed the emotion stirred in France by these statements and called for a clear reaffirmation of the values of respect, human dignity, and the fight against all forms of discrimination,” Perrin wrote on X.
Amarilla who previously called Mbappe a “brute that hasn’t even learned to write” and a “colonised Cameroonian” revealed that she was of mixed origins herself and the racist comments were made in the heat of the monent.
“My posts were written in the heat of the moment, with my blood boiling, the blood of a mixed heritage, a beautiful blend of Indigenous and Spanish ancestry that runs through my veins.
“I wrote them while watching you mock those extraordinary Paraguayan players who fought as equals until the final whistle. However, I immediately regretted responding to you with the same insults that I myself receive. I realized I was repeating the very behavior I despise, so I deleted the post.
“I understand that my words offended you because humiliation hurts.,” Amarilla wrote in an open letter addressed to Mbappe.
The Senator also threatened legal actions because Mbappe responded to her racist comments by calling her undeserving of her senatorial position.
“Who are you to call me unworthy or despicable when you do not even know me? This is blatant gender based violence. This is political violence against a woman who earned her position through the democratic vote of her people. You insult me because I am a woman. You attack my dignity as a woman and as a political representative.
“Retract your statements, honor your French citizenship, and apologize. Otherwise, I may pursue legal action for gender-based violence,” Amarilla added.
A lot of journalists, Politicians and Footballing bodies have criticized her racist remarks.
Mbappe on the other hand is yet to respond to her open letter.
