French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has strongly condemned former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's recent article concerning the French national football team. Barrot, speaking on Monday, July 13, 2026, asserted that "France has no skin color" and any statement to the contrary is either "stupidity, racism, or a combination of both." This follows Rajoy's article, which claimed the French team performs exceptionally "without French people," sparking widespread indignation.
The controversy intensified ahead of the 2026 World Cup semi-final match between France and Spain. French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon also weighed in on Monday during an interview with RTL. Bregeon described Rajoy's remarks as "abject" and indicative of a profound ignorance regarding French history, national identity, and the pride the French people hold for their national team. She unequivocally added, "Evidently, it is racism."
Rajoy's comments have caused significant uproar across most political parties, excluding the far-right. Even Marine Le Pen's National Rally, since her leadership, has refrained from making such statements. Luis Fernández, a Franco-Spanish coach and former player, characterized the remarks as an "absolute lack of respect."
The Spanish government has also rejected Rajoy's statements, which government spokesperson Elma Saiz described as "racist" and "xenophobic." Spain's Foreign Minister, speaking from Brussels on Monday, urged Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the Popular Party (PP), to disavow Rajoy's column. He further called on Feijóo to cease attempts to "incite, boycott, and torpedo" national foreign policy by questioning relationships with allied nations such as France, Morocco, and Mexico. Saiz criticized the former Prime Minister for creating a "minor international conflict" with his pronouncements.
Additionally, the Spanish Foreign Minister requested El Debate, the digital publication that ran Rajoy's article, to "retract the article and issue a correction, making it clear that they do not share what was conveyed and expressed in that article in that manner."
This incident follows a recent setback in Franco-Spanish relations last week when the PP and Vox parties blocked the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, signed in 2023, in the Spanish Senate. They filed a preliminary appeal of unconstitutionality against the treaty. The Foreign Minister stated that the PP and Vox are "sabotaging with an absurd appeal of unconstitutionality that only exists in their minds the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with France; they make extremely dangerous, hurtful statements towards the French national football team (...); they clearly position themselves as an anti-French party against France; that's in the north."
The Foreign Minister concluded by demanding that Feijóo not only disavow Rajoy and clarify his disagreement with the position but also "once and for all, stop trying to ignite, boycott, and torpedo the extraordinary foreign policy that Spain currently has, which is recognized and applauded worldwide, and stop trying to sabotage close friendly relations."