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English to French - Standard rate: 0.14 USD per word / 43 USD per hour
English to French: When Sport and Politics don't Mix
Source text - English Euro 2004 has just kicked off, and it�s at times like these that football is seen as a great leveller � uniting fellow countrymen and women behind the national team, in search of a common victory. But what about when a nation is already divided? Can football overcome these divisions or does its fervent nationalism make them worse?
Text:
A case in point
Northern Ireland � a place where everything is political from the newspaper you read, to the pub you drink in, to the football team you support. In this context, the fabric of everyday life builds up to form two distinct polar identities: Catholic/Protestant, Nationalist (whose objective is a united Ireland)/Unionist (who want to remain in the union with Britain).
What does it say about someone who supports Northern Ireland? Well, for the unionist population it is a way of celebrating their identity in much the way any national team inspires pride, passion and hope. However the bitter sectarian chants and hostile atmosphere towards Catholics make Windsor Park (where home games are played) a no-go area for all but the staunchest football fan.
Indeed even the players need nerves of steel. As recently as 2003, a Catholic footballer who played for Celtic (in Scotland) received death threats from a loyalist paramilitary organization against him and his family when he was selected to play for Northern Ireland. The reaction of the IFA was underwhelming, and the player � Neil Lennon � felt he had no option but to retire from international football while at his peak to protect himself and his family.
As usual in Northern Ireland, the main issue is always clouded in a haze of political agenda � so talking about football means talking about more than football. For nationalists, to support the Northern Ireland football team translates into an acceptance of the Northern Irish state, legitimizes the division of Ireland in two and is seen as a betrayal of what should be their true allegiances to the Republic of Ireland. With all this in the background, is it any wonder football matches take on huge significance?
Rugby rules
The story changes where rugby is concerned. Historical developments have meant that the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is an all-island body, governing one national team. Rugby was first played by students of Dublin University (Trinity College) who mostly came from the English upper classes. Its popularity spread, and was as successful in the north-east of the country as the south-west. While initially there were two ruling bodies, they agreed in 1879 to amalgamate to the IRFU. To accommodate the divided political allegiances of its players and supporters after partition in 1921, two anthems are played at home games � the Republic of Ireland national anthem and the more generic �Ireland�s Call�.
Football, on the other hand, came to Ireland via the plantations and was concentrated mostly in Ulster (the north-east province, part of which is now Northern Ireland). The ruling body � the Irish Football Association � was based in Belfast, but the rest of the country felt this body was biased towards northern players, in particular Protestant players. After partition in 1921, the Football Association of the Irish Free State was created in an attempt to redress this imbalance. Thus football in Ireland has always suffered from suspicions of politicization.
Class crisis
It can also be said to be suffering one of its lowest periods at the moment. Notwithstanding death threats to players, they have recently set a new record for the length of time played without scoring a goal, and questions have been raised about the standard of their stadium (which is not a national stadium but the home ground of a local soccer team). This slump is having deeper repercussions throughout the unionist community because while supporters of Northern Ireland can be classified along political lines, they can also be distinguished along class lines. As alluded to above, rugby was the sport of the upper classes and football seen as a working class phenomenon. The past successes of certain campaigns � most notably the World Cup in 1982 � and of certain individuals such as George Best, Pat Jennings and Norman Whiteside had allowed a degree of historical pride, but also painfully highlights today�s shortcomings. This feeling of underachievement is exacerbated by the successes of �nationalist� sports such as Gaelic football, albeit on a smaller scale. There has been a huge upsurge in popularity in these sports, partially contributed to by an increased confidence in nationalist identity. Conversely unionist identity now feels more under threat. This perceived threat has manifested itself in more extreme expression of the components that make up that identity.
The nationalist elements behind football support means that football at this level is not going to overcome divisions based on national identity in a society. It is more useful as a technique for bridging racial divisions, such as the �Kick out Racism� campaign in the UK. However steps are being made in Northern Ireland to develop sporting programmes involving young people from both communities in an attempt to overcome sectarianism. While these schemes are to be applauded for fostering understanding and togetherness, national political concerns, while unresolved, will continue to impose its divisions at the sporting level.
Translation - French Chronique
ZONE CAF� BABEL - L�Euro 2004, une m�taphore de l�Union europ�enne
La f�te du football qui se d�roule en ce moment au Portugal, l'Euro 2004, co�ncide avec une p�riode d�activit� politique intense dans l�Union europ�enne. Mais quelle est la relation entre football international et politique ? Le patriotisme et l�agitation concomitante de drapeaux attiseront-ils un nationalisme plus sinistre et un sentiment anti-europ�en ?
Le championnat europ�en remonte � la Coupe des nations de 1960 cr��e par Henri Delauney. Le d�but du tournoi s�annon�ait mal : seuls quatre pays devaient se disputer le premier troph�e et plusieurs grandes nations du football, comme l�Allemagne de l�Ouest, d�clin�rent l�invitation. Le tournoi de 1960 fut aussi contrari� par la politique lorsque le dictateur espagnol, le g�n�ral Franco, retira l��quipe de son pays avant la demi-finale qui devait l�opposer � l�URSS. Ce n��tait pas le premier exemple d�interf�rence de la politique avec le football. En effet, l�histoire de ce beau sport est jalonn�e d��pisodes de ce genre car ce jeu international, avec le pouvoir de s�duction qu�il exerce sur le peuple et son symbolisme manifeste, v�hicule fortement une id�ologie politique.
C�est par les dictateurs fascistes des ann�es 30 que le football a �t� largement et le plus express�ment utilis� comme outil de propagande. Ils voyaient le sport, et notamment le football, comme un moyen d�intensifier le sentiment de sup�riorit� nationale. Mussolini utilisait le football, et en particulier le fait que l�Italie �tait le pays organisateur de la Coupe du monde 1934, � d�importantes fins politiques. Les all�gations selon lesquelles il aurait donn� des pots-de-vin � l�arbitre de la finale Italie-Tch�coslovaquie continuent de peser sur le patrimoine du tournoi. La victoire � la Coupe du monde a aviv� la ferveur nationale et par l�-m�me renforc� le pouvoir du r�gime. De m�me, Hitler consid�rait le football comme un �l�ment extr�mement important dans la perception de son r�gime et l�a utilis� � son avantage en envoyant son �quipe nationale jouer � Londres contre l�Angleterre en 1938. Le fair-play des joueurs leur permit de se faire beaucoup d�amis au Royaume-Uni et contribua indirectement � prolonger la politique franco-britannique d�apaisement. Ces deux exemples bien que c�l�bres ne sont pas isol�s car l�association de la politique avec le football est une tradition bien enracin�e et a �t� exploit�e par maintes autres figures, de Per�n � Khadafi.
Une pratique qui perdure. L�allusion de Tony Blair au pied droit de David Beckham et la proclamation d�un jour f�ri� par Jacques Chirac en l�honneur de la victoire de la France sont des exemples plus subtils peut-�tre que ceux mentionn�s plus haut ; ils constituent toutefois un ingr�dient essentiel dans la recette du succ�s politique. On reproche souvent aux leaders actuels d��tre d�cal� par rapport � l��tat d�esprit des gens, mais le sport, le football surtout, leur permet de montrer qu�ils ont des affinit�s avec l�individu lambda.
Le d�bat politique sur l�avenir de l�Europe dans les mois qui ont pr�c�d� et qui suivront l�Euro 2004 a conduit certains partis anti-europ�ens � puiser dans la ferveur patriotique qui entoure le tournoi pour servir une forme plus inqui�tante de rh�torique du nationalisme : ils tentent d�exploiter la fiert� que les populations ressentent pour leur �quipe de football afin d�en faire un symbole de � la nation d�abord � dans les questions europ�ennes. Au Royaume-Uni, une nation d�j� eurosceptique par nature, cela s�est manifest� par la mont�e relativement fulgurante du Parti pour l�ind�pendance du Royaume-Uni (UKIP) et dans une moindre mesure celle du British National Party (BNP), dont les deux programmes politiques sont nationalistes. Pendant que certains attribuent le virage politique � droite que conna�t l�Europe � des th�mes plus larges comme l�immigration ou la peur du terrorisme post 11 septembre, on peut, � raison, dire que la fiert� ressentie pour un certain pays sur le terrain de football pourrait bien �tre exploit�e par des groupes politiques et la presse anti-europ�enne pour amplifier le nationalisme et le sentiment d�ambivalence vis-�-vis des autres nations europ�ennes. Les gouvernements, toujours plus soucieux de l�opinion publique, pourraient alors �prouver de la r�ticence � l��gard d�une int�gration europ�enne plus pouss�e si l�occasion se pr�sente, par consid�ration pour l�avis de la population. Dans une p�riode o� l�Europe essaie de se red�finir pour le vingt et uni�me si�cle, cet �chec serait un �norme handicap.
Pourtant, si cet Euro devait faire ressortir un argument politique, alors il devrait plut�t �tre en faveur de l�Europe que contre. Comme l�UE, le championnat europ�en s�est �tendu et d�velopp� depuis ses timides d�buts pour devenir la c�l�bration du foot telle que nous la connaissons en ce moment. Chacun a une �quipe pr�f�r�e mais reconna�t le m�rite des autres. Des �quipes diff�rentes ont des styles diff�rents, et pourtant le tournoi c�l�bre une culture commune. L�entra�neur des Anglais est su�dois, celui des Grecs, allemand, et beaucoup de joueurs de haut niveau exercent leur profession � l�ext�rieur de leur pays. L�Euro 2004 n�est donc pas qu�un simple tournoi. C�est une m�taphore de ce que l�Europe devrait devenir.
Texte écrit par Chris Yeomans, Café Babel
cafebabel.com
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Other - Université Marc Bloc de Strasbourg et UNSA
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Years of experience: 8. Registered at ProZ.com: Jun 2005.
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