Following defeat in the EU election, France's President Emmanuel Macron called for new elections in the country.
Now Kylian Mbappé has found himself in the midst of the political turmoil – just hours before the European Championship premiere.
The election is more important than the match, he says at a press conference.
Kylian Mbappé has had close contact with French President Emmanuel Macron for some time.
Now the 25-year-old is taking a stand in politics, after the far-right won the EU election and Macron called for new elections in the country.
We've never seen anything like this before, and that's why I really want to address the entire French people, and especially the young. We're a generation that can make a difference. We see that extremism is knocking on the door to power, but we have the power to shape our country's future, he says at a press conference according to The Guardian.
Mbappé, who is set to play in the European Championship premiere against Austria on Monday evening, says he wants to be proud of his France, and that he doesn't want to represent his country otherwise.
Kylian Mbappé is against extreme opinions and ideas that divide people. I want to be proud to represent my country. I don't want to represent a country that doesn't stand for my, and our, values, he says and continues:
The match is of course enormously important, I think I have the right to say. But there's one thing that's more important, and that's the election.
