‘It’s not over’: France’s Koundé urges voters to turn out for second round

Jules Koundé said he was disappointed after French general elections returned a first-round victory for the far right and the France full-back encouraged those who have not yet voted to make it out for the second round, describing the policies of Marine Le Pen’s party as “against our values”.

The National Rally won 33% of the vote in the first round, with the leftwing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance on 28% and president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together bloc on 21%.

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Koundé, who was named man of the match on Monday night after France’s 1-0 victory against Belgium in the last 16 of Euro 2024, said: “I was disappointed to see the direction our country is taking, with huge support for a party that is against our values of living together and respect, a party that seeks to divide French men and women. But it is not over yet: there is a second round.

“We can try to find those who have not voted and get them to go to the ballot box to make sure that the extreme right does not get in. They seek to take away our freedom and take away the fact that we live together. And that is my political stance.”

The France head coach, Didier Deschamps, insisted that qualification for the quarter-finals should not be taken lightly, despite France being the pre-tournament favourites. Delighted with their progression to the next round, he suggested his team’s apparently cautious approach was deliberate. “We only scored one goal but it was enough,” he said.

“We did everything we could to attack, to try to score. But we were also maybe on the back foot: we were intelligent, we played the waiting game, we were not going to fall into the trap of giving them the space they were looking for.

“The shots are the only thing I want to work on. Today we had six or seven chances. Even if it was an own goal someone has to take the shot and it finished in the back of the net, so be it.

“I am immensely proud to do what we are able to do. We are in the quarter-finals, that’s the thing that counts. People expect that but let’s not play this down; let’s savour this moment. We appreciate this; nothing comes from just clicking your fingers.”

Jan Vertonghen’s 85th-minute own goal settled the contest in France’s favour, and his Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne said of the result: “It is a pity. We had a plan and we executed that plan pretty well. We knew that with their qualities they would have more of the ball.

“We had our moments, although there weren’t very many. But we could be dangerous. Our plan was good until their goal came. Then we had little time to respond.”