desk news: Ten thousand French fans have registered for World Cup fan passes and France will not boycott the tournament in Qatar, its ambassador to the Gulf state has said.
Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Faivre also said in a television interview broadcast late Monday that 300 French police and paramilitary gendarmes will help Qatar with security for the World Cup that runs from November 20 to December 18.
Qatar has faced intense scrutiny over its human rights record in the run-up to the tournament. Paris and some other French cities have said they will not show matches on giant public screens as they traditionally do for major sports events.
Former French international Eric Cantona has been among figures in Europe calling for a boycott of the World Cup over Qatar’s treatment of foreign workers and rights for women and the LGBTQ community.
