The words of “La Marseillaise” will reverberate across England once more after the English Premier League agreed to play the French national anthem at each of its games this weekend.
The EPL tribute will allow hundreds of thousands of fans attending Premier League matches — on Saturday, Sunday and Monday — to pay their respects to the 129 people who died in the Paris attacks last Friday.
Earlier this week over 71,000 fans gathered at London’s Wembley Stadium for the friendly international game between England and France when both sets of fans also sang the French national anthem.
There are 72 French players plying their trade in the EPL, making France the second highest represented nation in the division after England, while there also two French managers working in the English top flight — Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Aston Villa’s Remi Garde.
“Given how close we are as well as the long-standing relationship that exists between the Premier League and France, playing ‘La Marseillaise’ as an act of solidarity and remembrance is the right thing to do,” the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Scudamore said in a statement.
“We were all saddened and deeply shocked by the events in Paris last Friday, and the fact it was an attack on people enjoying their everyday freedoms like going to a bar, a concert or a football match resonates with football fans and the general public throughout the UK,” added Scudamore, referring to the way France’s friendly match against Germany at the Stade de France had been targeted in the attacks.
France’s national league continues this weekend with champions Paris Saint-Germain set to wear a special shirt emblazoned with “Je suis Paris” underneath the club’s badge.
PSG will wear the shirt when it plays at Lorient on Saturday as well as the Champions League game at Malmo and the home domestic fixture against Troyes on November 28.