“You saw Mbappé's statement ?”: Brazilian President Lula comments on the French player's initiative on the legislative elections

Lula a commenté les propos de Kylian Mbappé concernant l'extrême droite. EFE – André Borges

Left-wing Brazilian President Lula stressed the importance of "guaranteeing democracy” facing the extreme right who hopes to win the legislative elections in France this Sunday, June 7, and welcomed the appeal of football star Kylian Mbappé.

"You saw Mbappé's statement? He called on the French people not to allow fascists, Nazis and extreme right govern France, because he knows what the problems are when extremists are in power, he declared late Thursday on the social network >

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to power last year after defeating his far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro, who presided over Brazil from 2019 to 2022, in the presidential election.

Kylian Mbappé declared Thursday at a press conference that there was "urgency to go and vote" Sunday after the "catastrophic results" of the first round of the legislative elections, which saw the National Rally (extreme right) come out on top.

"We can't put the country in the hands of these people, it's really urgent", insisted the captain of the Blues, without mentioning the RN by name.

"The extreme right, I know well"

Lula also spoke "the importance of political decisions that guarantee democracy".< br />The Brazilian president also recalled the words of his compatriot Rai, idol of Paris SG and world champion with the Seleçao in 1994, who called to block the extreme right on Wednesday, during a fiery speech on the Place de la République in Paris.

"The far right I know well, what they do best is lie. I knew them in power. The extreme right in power is the end of the world, the end of human rights, of humanism, of humanity", the former Brazilian footballer declared in French.

Vocês viram a declaração do Mbappé? Ele convocou o povo francês a não permitir que os fascistas, nazistas e a extrema direita governem a França. Porque ele sabe os problemas de ter extremistas no poder. Também teve a declaração do Raí que eu vi hoje. Essa é a importância das…

— Lula (@LulaOficial) July 5, 2024

"In Brazil, we lived through a nightmare: four years of misogyny, homophobia, prejudice, deforestation. The extreme right is hatred, he denounced.

The legislative election in France also provokes reactions from the Bolsonaro camp. One of his sons, MP Eduardo Bolsonaro, welcomed the result of the first round last Sunday.

"All normal people hope for the victory (of the RN), which would represent the beginning of the rescue of France&quot ;, he said in a message on X republished by his father.