Kylian Mbappé takes a stand, Ferrari keeps its title at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, La Rochelle and UBB in the semi-finals of the Top 14… The sports recap of the weekend

The first three days of the European Football Championship did not generate any surprises, with the main favorites holding their place in Germany.

From Euro football to the final stages of the Top 14 in rugby, the weekend was lively on the pitch… and off. The Blues, like Marcus Thuram and Kylian Mbappé, stood out for their political position and their call for a vote in the early legislative elections. On the tarmac, Ferrari retained its title at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, at the end of a suspenseful race.

Football: the Blues’ call for a vote

Since Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the holding of new legislative elections, France has been living to the rhythm of preparations for the vote. Although in Germany, for the Euro, the players of the France team were questioned on the subject at a press conference. First to speak during the week, Ousmane Dembélé was widely followed by his teammates this weekend.

As leader, Marcus Thuram was very clear on the subject, calling for a fight against the National Rally. An approach which led the FFF to recall a need to stay “far from political pressures and uses” for the players. A press release which did not prevent Kylian Mbappé from speaking at length on the subject at a press conference on Sunday, calling “all young people to vote“, because “the extremes are at the gates of power”.

Football: the favorites hold their place at the Euro

After Germany’s thunderous debut at the opening of the tournament, there were no surprises during the first Euro matches. On Saturday, Switzerland logically dominated Hungary (3-1), before Spain was impressive against Croatia (3-0). Finally, Italy, the defending champion, was frightened for a time against Albania, before finally winning (2-1).

On Sunday, the Netherlands, future opponents of the Blues, barely beat Poland (2-1), but took – at least temporarily – the lead in group D. Denmark and Poland left back to back (1-1), leaving England, timid winner of Serbia (1-0), at the head of Group C.

24 Hours of Le Mans: Ferrari retains its title

Despite the rain and interruptions, Ferrari once again tamed the Le Mans circuit and the 24 Hours, thanks to its No. 50 car, driven by the trio composed ofAntonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen. The Emilia-Romagna team beat the No. 7 Toyota (José Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries) by a tiny margin of 14 seconds. Winner last year, the #51 Ferrari completes the podium.

As expected, the race was hotly contested, with no less than nine cars on the same lap with two hours to go, with the Toyota finally suffering a spin in the last hour of the race. This 92nd edition was notably marked by heavy rain, which required the intervention of the safety car three times, while the race was neutralized for more than four hours during the night.

Rugby: La Rochelle and Bordeaux-Bègles in the semi-finals, Montpellier maintains its position in extremis in Top 14

In the first duel of the weekend, RC Toulon hosted a Stade Rochelais a little more moribund than in recent years. However, helped by the numerous blunders of the locals, it was the Maritimes who laid down the law on the Mayol pitch (34-29), to find Stade Toulouse in the half.

In the other semi-final, Union Bordeaux-Bègles won at the expense of Racing 92, in Chaban-Delmas. In a less exciting and more messy match, the Bordelais found the fault in the Ile-de-France defense to reach the semi-finals for the fourth time in a row (31-17). Finally, in the Access match, Montpellier saved its place in the Top 14 by defeating Grenoble (20-18).

Golf: Pavon in the top 5 at the US Open

After three days of competition at the US Open, Matthieu Pavon occupied second place in the Major, enough to share the final part with the leader, Bryson DeChambeau, on Sunday. A small event for French golf, since the last Frenchman to have had such an honor was Jean Van de Velde, in 1999.

In the running to become the first French winner of a Major since Arnaud Massy in 1907, Matthieu Pavon had a start to the fourth day that was too complicated to aim for victory, with four bogeys conceded (on holes 1, 4, 8 and 12). The French golfer still finished 5th in the US Open, three shots behind the winner, the American Bryson DeChambeau.