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ELECTIONS

‘Alarm bells ringing’: Dembélé calls on France stars to vote in key elections

French football star Ousmane Dembélé admitted on Thursday the political situation in the country had "set alarm bells ringing" and said he and his teammates intended to vote in upcoming legislative elections even if they are still involved at Euro 2024 in Germany.

'Alarm bells ringing': Dembélé calls on France stars to vote in key elections
France's forward Ousmane Dembele gives a press conference at the Home Deluxe Arena Stadium in Paderborn, western Germany, on June 13. Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP

“We need to mobilise to get out and vote,” Dembélé told reporters at the French team’s training base in western Germany where they are preparing for their opening European Championship game against Austria on Monday.

“I think the situation in France has set alarm bells ringing. Everyone needs to rally round and come together to vote.”

President Emmanuel Macron has called snap parliamentary elections with the first round set for June 30th and the second round on July 7th.

READ ALSO What do snap parliamentary elections mean for France?

He announced the snap poll last Sunday in response to the results of the EU elections, in which far-right parties — including the top-scoring Rassemblement National (RN) — managed to take almost 40 percent of the vote in France.

“I was watching the news not long ago and I saw that one in every two people in France doesn’t vote, so everyone needs to vote in the legislative elections,” added Dembélé, the former Barcelona winger now playing back in France for Paris Saint-Germain.

The French squad will still be in Germany at the time of the election, provided they make it beyond the group stage.

The first round of the election is set to take place the same weekend as the last 16 of Euro 2024, while the second round comes just after the quarter-finals.

However, Dembélé said the French Football Federation was planning to help players set up a proxy vote if they remained in Germany at the time.

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SPORT

Tour de France to start in Barcelona in 2026

The Tour de France will start in Barcelona in 2026, the third time the race has started in Spain in over a century, organisers ASO announced on Tuesday.

Tour de France to start in Barcelona in 2026

“Barcelona is a prestigious city and it is a city of sport,” Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme told AFP.

He said two complete stages would take place in Catalonia and the third stage would also begin there before crossing into France.

Cycling’s most famous race started in Saint Sebastian in 1992 and in Bilbao last year.

This year the Tour starts in the Italian city of Florence on June 29th before reverting to Lille next year.

This year’s Tour de France will end in Nice on July 21st in a change from its normal route because of the preparations for the Olympics in Paris.

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