ABSTRACT
The month-long period of the Finals had always been evoked by the organisers as an intended 33 days of festivities, with spectacular football in the grounds and non-stop sporting and cultural activities throughout France. As the success of the French national team gradually grew, leading France to their first Final and then victory, la fte the term chosen to describe the competition eventually became reality, when hundreds of thousands of French people celebrated on the Champs-Elyses. The following narrative chronology of the month of France 98 sets out the salient features of Frances experience of the World Cup; it intermingles discussion of football, security, culture, media, fandom and infrastructures, and aims to provide an easily readable panorama of events, starting with the final selection of the French squad by manager Aim Jacquet. The President of the French Football Federation (FFF) Claude Simonet was promoted to Officier rank in the Legion of Honour.
