The leading French sports newspaper, L’Équipe, has been accused of bad taste after appearing to invoke France’s First World War victory over Germany in its coverage of the Tuesday night football match between the two countries.
The newspaper ran the front-page headline “Comme en ’18” (Like in ’18) to cover the national team’s 1-0 victory over the Germans in the opening round of the Euro-20 championship.
The term apparently referred to France winning the 2018 World Cup in Russia when Germany were humiliated by failing to qualify from the group stage. For older generations, the term “like ’18” recalls the German surrender in November 1918.
“Comme en 14” is a common French expression referring to anyone embarking naively on an undertaking, as the country’s
