The sarcastic statement by the French coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Christophe Galtier, who suggested that the capital club travel by "glider" instead of traveling by air, as he did this weekend during his move to meet Nantes in the local football league, sparked a wave of widespread criticism in the midst of the controversy. About private aircraft and their impact on climate.
Galtier, on the eve of his most difficult entitlement since the beginning of the season against Juventus in the first round of the group stage of the Champions League, was forced to defend himself over his Paris club's option to travel back and forth on the 340-km Paris-Nantes flight.
"This morning, we discussed with the company we're traveling with, to see if it's possible to travel on a windsurf," he said with a smile.
Galtier's words raised astonishment in the audience, and laughed by striker Kylian Mbappe, who was at his side.
Sports Minister Amelie Odea-Castera quickly responded to this statement by questioning the Paris Saint-Germain coach, writing on Twitter: "Mr. Galtier, we are used to more relevant and responsible answers - are we talking about that?"
In turn, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, criticized the words of the coach of the French champion, writing on her Twitter page, "No, but it is okay to respond to such things??? Wake up guys??? Here is Paris."
The director of the National Railways, Alan Krakovic, was highly critical of Saint-Germain's use of the plane instead of the train to travel to Nantes on Saturday, explaining that the company had made an offer that suited the needs of the Qatari-owned club.
Krakovic responded in a tweet to a video of Italian midfielder Marco Verratti on board a Saint-Germain plane published on social media, proposing, "Paris-Nantes in less than two hours by the National Railways, our offer has been renewed with an offer tailored to your needs, in order to Our common interests: safety, speed, services and sustainable transport.
After defeating the "Canary" club and regaining the top of the "Ligue 1", another video appeared on social media of the Saint-Germain stars on the plane, looking happy and comfortable on the return trip to the capital, Paris.
The director of the National Railways contributed to fueling the conflict over the use of aircraft, especially private aircraft, that recently swept the French political class, as some on the left and among environmentalists strongly desire to reduce their use due to the carbon impact of this type of transport.
On Friday, the anti-globalization association pointed the finger at Argentine star Lionel Messi, who has made 52 flights since June, "ie 1502 tons of carbon dioxide", and stressed that this is "equivalent to the flights made by a Frenchman every 150 years." It also called for regulating the use of private aircraft.
The highly polluting private jets used by the wealthy have been causing controversy for several weeks, while environmentalists are calling for a reduction in their travel and even a travel ban.
Source: AFP