Words often matter as much as actions and amid the civil unrest that France has felt in recent days, some French people are apparently angry and offended over the altering of their national anthem before the NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints.
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people → matter → Steelers
And, yes, this has to do with immigrants in France.
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this → have → France
Before the game, singer Nina Tonji performed La Marseillaise at the Stade de France.
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Tonji → perform → France
Although she received a warm round of applause afterward, there has been significant online backlash because she modified the lyrics of the song.
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she → receive → song
Tonji changed "Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!" to "Qu'un sang uni abreuve nos sillons!," and that was clearly done on purpose because it has political and societal ramifications.
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it → change → ramifications
"Qu’un sang impur abreuve nos sillons" means "May impure blood water our furrows/fields."
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blood → mean → fields
In the revolutionary context of La Marseillaise, "impure blood" referred to enemies and traitors – particularly French immigrants fighting alongside foreign armies.
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blood → refer → armies
Replacing impur ("impure") with uni ("united") changes the meaning of the passage from from a call for enemy blood to nourish France’s soil into an appeal for national unity and solidarity that includes immigrants to nourish France's soil.
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that → replace → soil
Tonji thus changed the song's tone from violent exclusion of a foreign enemy to a message of unity with foreigners.
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Tonji → change → foreigners
She gave immigrants cover that La Marseillaise did not in 1792 when it was written during the French Revolution.
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it → give → Revolution
And, yes, this rendition represented a lyrical alteration by the Tonji that departed from the traditional wording of the French national anthem.
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that → represent → anthem
But it comes at a time when people in France are on edge about immigration and foreigners.
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people → come → immigration
That’s because at least some of the protesters who took to the streets during the past two weeks of civil unrest were immigrants.
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who → ’ → unrest
Some rallied for anti-Israel causes, while others called for the overthrow of the current political system.
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others → rally → system
This is where we also inform you that Tonji was born in Montreal, Canada.
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Tonji → inform → Montreal
Much of the attention she is now getting has come from media accounts with massive followings.
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she → get → followings
Cerfia posted the song to its 1.3 million followers and highlighted the changes made.
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Cerfia → post → changes
RMC Sport posted it to its 2.7 million followers, saying the change caused "confusion."
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change → post → confusion
Francetvsport also posted the song to its 297,500 followers.
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Francetvsport → post → followers
The replies to the viral posts did include some people willing to overlook the change.
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replies → include → change
But a vast majority insulted everything from Tonji's voice, to looks, to the action itself, calling it a "scandal," and "disrespectful" and a "controversy."
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majority → insult → it
Seems some French people have pride in their national anthem.
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people → seem → anthem
So here is a common sense approach the NFL should adapt to avoid these public relations black eyes – because the league gets a lot of coverage over national anthem performances that go awry.
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that → adapt → performances
The league, which supposedly has a right of refusal over these pregame and even halftime acts, can easily force the artists to sign binding contracts that demand they perform the songs as written.
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they → have → songs
Sure, interpret all you want, the league can tell the artists.
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league → interpret → artists
That's what makes you an artist.
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you → make → ?
Because that makes you an activist.
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you → make → ?
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